Profile

Layla Garrigues PhD, RN

Assistant Professor
University of Portland
garrigue@up.edu | (360) 600-5205

Using radical listening in co-creating a community of learning: Changing shameful catalysts to constructive and collaborative work


Layla Garrigues, PhD, RN, University of Portland
Co-Author(s): Joane T. Moceri, PhD, RN, University of Portland, School of Nursing
Abstract
The current health care environment demands rapid development of professionally trained diverse nurses to meet the demands of a diverse population, but we are lacking in recruiting and retaining diverse faculty, staff, and students. From a socio-ecological perspective, efforts in academia are needed towards increasing educational equity for QTBIPOC (Queer, Transgender, Black, Indigenous, People of Color) students in nursing programs. In response to these concerns and a sense of urgency, the International Education, Diversity, and Inclusion (IEDI) committee was founded to address this disparity of ethnic, racial, and gender diversity among the staff, faculty, and students at the University of Portland School of Nursing (UPSON). COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement further instilled concerns around equity and diversity at the school. The UPSON was publicly called out during summer of 2020 and responded with the co-creation of a living action plan for systemic change involving students, staff, faculty, and administration. The call to change catalyzed a cultural shift in the UPSON. We undertook radical listening, deconstructing structures, and co-creating a collaborative community of learning: building rapport with students, disarming and diffusing their anger, and taking action toward concrete change through:
  • Intentional radical listening
  • Empowering students
  • Social justice study group.
Objectives: We will describe a collaborative and trauma-informed approach in addressing contentious issues and heated concerns from students, and the process of collaboration and radical-listening for creating the Action Plan. Empowering students in this context enhances their capacity to engage and feel valued as members of the academic community.
Biography
Layla Garrigues, PhD, RN, is the Founding Chair of the International Education, Diversity, and Inclusion (IEDI) committee at University of Portland, School of Nursing. She is an Assistant Professor teaching about global health, health policy, and population health via the lens of cultural humility, ethics, and social justice. She strives for student-centered learning in a cooperative working environment that extends to a collegial relationship between teacher and learner. She has worked internationally and collaborates with colleagues in various countries.

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