Practice Tip of the Week | From Culture to Care: Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Through Nursing

By Diana Ruiz, DNP, RN, CMSRN, CNE, PHNA-BC, CWOCN, NE-BC 

The patient populations that we serve, regardless of our area of specialty, are diverse, unique, and complex. As professional nurses, we should be equipped, at a minimum, with the ability to understand, appreciate and support other cultural norms and beliefs. Furthermore, it is our duty to promote health equity with every patient encounter. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, “Health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. This requires removing obstacles to health such as poverty, discrimination, and their consequences…” (2017).

But how and where do we begin? Perhaps we should begin from within, exploring our own beliefs, biases, and cultural upbringing.

My journey began in a small town in Mexico. My mother and I immigrated to Texas when I was very young, and I don't have much recollection of my childhood prior to that. However, I very much remember my American upbringing and still recall the day I became a naturalized citizen.

As a child, I served as a translator for my mother countless times when we needed healthcare services. We were socioeconomically challenged, to say the least, and did not have access to preventative healthcare. The emergency room was often our only primary care resource, something that of course is frowned upon in healthcare. As a registered nurse of over 23 years now, I can appreciate comments such as “do they know that this place is only for emergencies?” and “why don’t they just go see their primary care doctor?” The truth is, we had to use the emergency room because we didn’t have a primary care doctor, we didn’t have health insurance, and we only could access healthcare during what we perceived as “emergencies” that could not be treated with household Mexican remedies. The same disparity still rings true for many of our patients today.

I was fortunate enough, however, to make it out of poverty and into the most rewarding profession. Once I became a registered nurse, I truly began to embrace my culture in hopes of becoming a better nurse and advocating for others. I quickly learned how vital it is to be able to engage and connect with people of different ethnicities and cultural upbringings. I embraced my ability to speak Spanish fluently and have advocated for so many Limited English Proficiency (LEP) patients because of this. Along my nursing journey I was also blessed to meet amazing mentors while a student in the BSN, MSN and DNP programs at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. These nursing legends challenged me, inspired me, and helped me believe that nothing is out of reach, while embracing my differences.

As my career continued to progress, I also began to observe that our own workforce lacked diversity, to varying degrees. I began to question; shouldn’t our workforce represent the diverse populations we serve? In 2022, it was reported that the average nurse was 46 years old, predominantly female (89%), and White (80%) and only 6.9% identified as Hispanic. This is a drastic underrepresentation of the approximate 20% Hispanic population according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates (The United States Census Bureau, 2020). Achieving equity in healthcare comes from embracing diversity, understanding the impact of health disparities and working alongside our patients to reduce these disparities. Promoting equity requires the creation of a diverse workforce that can meet individuals where they are and help them achieve their healthiest self (Broadway, et al., 2026).

Understanding and appreciating different cultural norms and beliefs has given me the gift of connection with my patients. I am better able to understand the impact of health disparities, having personally experienced them. My upbringing has also taught me gratitude and the importance of service to others. I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve on medical missions to Uganda, Haiti, and Ecuador. Years later, as a doctoral prepared population health nurse with a background in acute care, home health, wound and ostomy care, staff education and leadership, I was able to truly empathize with socioeconomically challenged individuals that faced the exact same challenges that I did so many years ago. I visited patients in their homes, provided free public-based services and partnered with local government officials during the COVID-19 Pandemic to create a drive-through COVID-19 testing program with community education and resource support.

My background helped shape the nurse I am today. I am proud to be a Mexican American immigrant. I am proud to be a registered nurse with a long career, having served many different populations in my past roles. I am grateful beyond words for the support, mentorship and encouragement from so many amazing nurse leaders before me. My beginning led me to where I am now. I am hopeful that my nursing path has helped moved the equity needle, even if just a miniscule amount. I am optimistic that as a nursing profession we will continue to strive towards health equity. Coming together as a cohesive, and yet beautifully diverse, nursing voice is what truly makes us the most noble and trusted profession.

Practice Tips

• Find mentors in nursing, with diverse backgrounds, that challenge you and motivate you to continue to grow.
• Never set limits for yourself and never let anyone else set limits for you either. 
• Focus on finding your passion in nursing, to align with your core values.

Takeaways

In order to embrace the diversity in our patients, we must first explore and appreciate the unique perspective that we each bring to our nursing practice.

Diversity in our nursing workforce should be leveraged to advance health equity. The more diverse our workforce is, the more likely we are able to represent and reach others.

Your past does not define your future. Your past should help guide you towards your own path of self-awareness, service, and fulfillment.

Become a mentor for others, empower the next generation of nurses to challenge the status quo.

REFERENCES

Broadway, D., Chinnis, S., Hazelton, T., Phillips, S., and Layne, D. M. (2026). Nurturing diversity in nursing: A pilot workforce initiative, Journal of Professional Nursing, 67, 140-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2026.08.014.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2017). What is Health Equity? https://www.rwjf.org/en/insights/our-research/2017/05/what-is-health-equity-.html

The United States Census Bureau. (2020). Quick facts United States. U.S. Department of Commerce. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/RHI525223