About the MELTING Project
 

Introduction

MELTING, standing for Multi-Ethnic Learning and Teaching in Nursing, seemed an appropriate acronym for a project aimed at raising awareness of the multi-ethnic dimension of nursing, essential in today’s culturally diverse and rich society that makes up the U.K (Gerrish K, Husband C, and Mackenzie J. (1996)). The Parekh Report, entitled ‘The Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain (The Runnymede Trust, 2000), describes our society as ‘a community of communities.’ 

The MELTING project, funded by Eastern NHSE Region, is a collaborative project involving staff from the Mary Seacole Centre for Nursing Practice, the Centre for Teaching and Learning, the Learning Resource Centre, academic staff and students of the Faculty of Health and Human Sciences.  It now also forms the Foundation model of the Transcultural Healthcare Practice: an educational resource for nurses and healthcare practitioners on the website of the Royal College of Nursing.  This is a resource that will be suitable for nurses and midwives involved in learning disability, adult, child and mental health.  It also includes sections on the epidemiology and politics of diversity, transcultural communication and healthcare practice, multi agency, race equality management and clinical supervision.  It was launched at the RCN Congress in May 2004.

The Mary Seacole Centre works to promote the integration of a multi-ethnic philosophy into the process of nursing and midwifery recruitment, education, practice, management and research. The MELTING project and its outcomes are but one example of this work. 

Pre-registration Nursing Programmes

In May 2000 the UKCC (2000) published Requirements for pre-registration nursing programmes. These requirements, developed as guiding principles, establish the philosophy and values underpinning nursing programmes leading to entry to the register as a registered nurse.

In respect of the domain of Professional and ethical practice the UKCC (now the Nursing and Midwifery Council - NMC) requirements are twofold, specifying the nursing outcomes for programmes and the competencies students need to achieve to progress from (1) the Common Foundation Programme to Branch and (2) entry onto the register. These are stated as follows:

1. Outcomes to be achieved for entry to the branch programme;

• Demonstrate the importance of promoting equity in patient and client care by contributing to nursing care in a fair and anti-discriminatory way:

• Demonstrate fairness and sensitivity when responding to patients, clients and groups from diverse circumstances.

• Recognise the needs of patients and clients whose lives are affected by disability, however manifest.

2. Competencies for entry to the register;

• Practise in a fair and anti-discriminatory way, acknowledging the differences in beliefs and cultural practices of individuals or groups.

• Maintain, support and acknowledge the rights of individuals or groups in the health care setting.

• Act to ensure that the rights of individuals and groups are not compromised.

• Respect the values, customs and beliefs of individuals and groups. 

• Provide care which demonstrates sensitivity to the diversity of patients and clients.

MELTING & Pre-registration Nursing Programmes

The MELTING resource will provide assistance to academics and students in order to achieve these outcomes at Foundation level. 

The resource provides an introduction to the key concepts associated with transcultural care and moves on to let learners explore, through guided scenarios, how the processes and principles of transcultural care can be applied in practice.

A range of information sources, which will contribute to learner's knowledge base on transcultural care, such as key texts, journal articles, organisations, web resources and a glossary are included. Although primarily aimed a foundation level study these sources of information will ensure that the resource continues to be of value in attaining the competencies required of learners who have progressed to their branch programme.

We hope that you will find MELTING an accessible and stimulating resource which signals the importance of being able to care for people from diverse cultural groups and that you continue to keep yourself up-to-date during your professional nursing career. The Equal Opportunity Framework of the National Health Service Executive, The Vital Connection (NHS Executive (2000)), requires ‘a workforce that is able to deliver high quality services that are accessible, responsive and appropriate to meet the diverse needs of different groups and individuals’ and appropriate to meet the of different groups and individuals.

We know that if you engage with and explore the themes presented in MELTING it will inform your practice and contribute to you becoming a confident and competent practitioner in respect to transcultural nursing practice. 

References

Gerrish, K., Husband, C. & Mackenzie, J. (1996) Nursing for a multi-ethnic society. Buckingham: Open University Press.

NHS Executive. (2000 April) The Vital Connection: An Equalities Framework for the NHS. London: Department of Health.
Link: www.doh.gov.uk/nhsequality/nhsequalitiesframework.htm

Runnymede Trust, The. (2000) The future of multi-ethnic Britain. The Parekh Report. London: Profile Books.

United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting. (May 2000) Requirements for pre-registration nursing programmes. London : UKCC (became Nursing and Midwifery Council on April 1, 2002)
Link: www.nmc-uk.org

E-mail Links

elizabeth.anionwu@tvu.ac.uk 
Professor Elizabeth N Anionwu 
Head of the Mary Seacole Centre for Nursing Practice

dave.sookhoo@tvu.ac.uk 
Dave Sookhoo 
MELTING Researcher, Mary Seacole Centre for Nursing Practice

jim.adams@tvu.ac.uk 
Jim Adams
Distance Learning Manager, Centre for Teaching and Learning