NHSC Scholar Combines Native Traditions and Modern Medicine to Meet Patients' Needs

Chilchenbeto, Arizona, is a remote town located in the heart of Navajo (Dineh) land in the foothills of Black Mesa on the Colorado Plateau. It is also the location of the Chilchenbeto Community Clinic, a tribal-owned, nonprofit Native American health facility.

In order for Chilchenbeto clinic to deliver quality health service to its patients—80 percent of whom are members of the Dineh Nation—clinicians must be sensitive to their perspective on health, expectations for treatment and healing, language, and way of life. The key to success has been a dedicated and open-minded staff providing individualized care.

Sharon Nelson, M.S.N. a certified family nurse practitioner recruited to Chilchenbeto through the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Scholarship Program, is a shining example of the cultural sensitivity needed in this unique situation.

"Cultural competence is not learned from books, journals, or in the classroom," Nelson observes. "It is learned from a lived experience." What living the experience has taught her is that even within a Native American reservation, there are different mixes of community needs, different traditions and sensitivities that must be taken into account when integrating culture into medical practice.

During her commitment, Nelson lived on the reservation and worked closely with a staff of one other NHSC nurse practitioner and three Dineh women. Her treatment methods were drawn from her experience of life within the tribe and sensitivity in combining traditional and modern medical techniques to treat the individual.

Nelson also was successful in her work with the community. She was involved in forming the Chilchinbeto Community Advisory Committee to develop a strategic health plan. The plan identified priorities and established task forces to address the major health issues, such as diabetes and alcohol and drug abuse, by combining Dineh treatments with Western medicine.

Today, traditional Dineh healing methods are being used when it is appropriate to the individual, just as they are being recognized for their medically curative qualities. Nelson hopes that the blending of Dineh and Western medicine, anticipated in the strategic plan, will strengthen the clinic's ability to serve the community.

Learn about other NHSC success stories.