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Abstract
This was a study which compared the kind of health care that non-professional Alaska Native (Yup'ik Eskimo) people provide for their families with the kind of health care that professionally trained Registered Nurses learn in Western college programs. Based on interviews with 23 Native health care providers (16 health aides and 7 registered nurses), Yup'ik health care is based on maintaining a balance in nature, showing respect in all things, the importance of family, the importance of the Yup'ik language, and appreciating the differences between Yup'ik tradition and science. A second purpose of the study was to discover factors that have been most helpful in encouraging Yup'ik students into a nursing program and find out what helped the students to complete their college program. Financial assistance, community, family, and college support were important factors for the successful completion of college programs by Yup'ik nurses. In order to encourage more participation by Yup'ik people in nursing, increased promotion of all health professions should begin in grade school with opportunities for students to interact with health professionals. Developing strong academic and the social survival skills necessary to function in a large city where professional nurses training will be received are an important part of this process. By encouraging more Yup'ik people into the nursing profession, it is anticipated that the overall health care of the Yup'ik communities will be improved.
