Janelle Scruggs
WHERE SHE’S COMING FROM
Norristown, Pennsylvania is Scruggs’ hometown, a mere 20 miles from where she currently works as an RN in a Philadelphia emergency room.
CULTURAL COMPETENCE IN ACTION
Scruggs’ experience working in an underserved community has demonstrated for her the importance of a diverse nursing workforce. She says, “Diversity in health care assists in ensuring culturally competent care can be provided to patients of all races, ethnicities, religious beliefs, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Without it, the reach of medicine is restricted to a single ethnic lens and a limited set of values.” With barriers to care being an issue of particular import in underserved communities—and available care often limited by providers who don’t understand their communities—Scruggs has had to fiercely advocate for patients to ensure they received the resources they needed.
A GOOD EXAMPLE
When Scruggs found out she’d been named a Lauder Fellow, she excitedly told her immediate family members, including her mother—a woman that Scruggs calls an inspiration. She says, “Despite the difficult obstacles life throws at my mom, she always perseveres.” Scruggs has taken that message to heart, vowing to be more present in her own life and always live in the moment while never taking anything for granted.
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