Health Equity Education for Washington Nurses

Course overview

The Washington state Department of Health has stated that "health equity exists when all people can attain their full health potential. That means people aren't disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of the color of their skin, ancestry, level of education, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, socioeconomic status, the job they have, the neighborhood they live in, or their disability status. Equity and equality are not the same; equality gives everyone the same resources while equity gives people the resources they need. With equity, everyone has the same opportunities as others. Research shows that inequities are part of the health care system and have always existed." In an effort to create health equity, the board of nursing and the state legislators have mandated that all healthcare professionals from the state complete health equity education. This course will identify how implicit bias affects the perception and treatment decisions of healthcare professionals, how this affects patient health outcomes, and provide solutions for overcoming implicit bias on both personal and systematic level, and directs the participant to take an honest evaluation of their own healthcare bias at the beginning and end of the course. This online continuing nurse education fulfills the 2 contact hour health equity education requirements for healthcare providers in the state of Washington.