Jonas Nguh, PhD, MSN, MSHA, a diabetes nurse educator with the Indian Health Service, may have been surprised when he was recognized with a prestigious health award, but his career focusing on underserved communities and chronic conditions shows he deserved the honor.
Nguh received the DAISY Health Equity Award from the American Association for Men in Nursing last year.
During a recent interview with Amanda Gibson, BSN, RN, Mid-Market Account Executive, Government Division, Relias, Nguh — who oversees program sites in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah — relays his joy in working with Indigenous communities and the special programs he developed to help community members control their diabetes. His love of nursing is palpable as he shares how he felt after winning a DAISY award. Here are a few of the highlights from the interview. See the full interview here or click on the image above.
Q: What made you decide to become a diabetic nurse educator?
Jonas Nguh: My personal and professional background. As a nurse and coming from an ethnic minority population myself, we have a high prevalence for non-communicable conditions — chronic conditions, diabetes, cardiovascular disease. So when this opportunity came along, it was something that I had already been prepared for. It was an easy choice for me just to dive in.
Q: What does the DAISY Health Equity Award mean to you?
Jonas Nguh: I appreciate the fact that my work was recognized. And I'm so grateful that it's not just about getting an award, but that it also highlights the healthcare disparities that many communities face and why we need to continue to push the ball up the hill. It also brings more awareness to other healthcare professionals.
The DAISY Award is very prestigious in nursing. Most of the time nurses don't get the praise, the appreciation we deserve. I'm so grateful that The DAISY Foundation exists because it wants to give back to those nurses who are contributing — who are pushing the agenda forward.
Q: Tell me a little bit more about the programs that you oversee.
Jonas Nguh: We have everything from patient education classes to screening and evaluation focusing on diabetes to help patients understand their condition. Then we have programs for management and treatment. There's also community health programs, where we do outreach activities like health fairs.
We also train providers just like me. When I came over to the Navajo Nation, it was a new environment to me. We train providers to be culturally aware and sensitive to the population. I had to learn how to say, “Good morning” and other key phrases in their language so I can begin to relate with the population I'm serving.
It's a very holistic and comprehensive cadre of programs, but we believe that doing it this way, we can meet the needs of the population better.
Q: What would you say are some of the most popular activities through your Family Education Diabetes Series for Native Americans program?
Jonas Nguh: We try to make it community-based and intergenerational, so you might have a mom, dad, grandpa, and the children participating. We teach them how to cook food that is relevant to their culture, but that incorporates nutritional basics — calorie watching, less sugar, and on. Then exercise and weight management. But we make it fun, so that it’s not an additional burden.
We also bring in outside speakers who understand the culture from their own lived experience. We found that’s really important because people can relate when they see somebody that looks like them or has gone through a similar experience and is experiencing positive outcomes.
Our overall message is that with simple lifestyle changes you can live a better quality of life. We ask, "How can you improve the quality of your life? How can you improve your health for yourself and your family?" When you can relate it to something tangible like continuing to live to see their grandchildren graduate or their daughter get married, then they look at managing diabetes in a positive way.
Q: How do you feel about being a nurse and what you've been able to accomplish in your career so far?
Jonas Nguh: I love nursing! I think for nurses and teachers — we do our jobs because we’re passionate about it. As we all know, nurses and teachers are not millionaires. You don't get into these professions to get rich. You get into it because you want to make an impact. You want to make a difference. And being in nursing 28-plus years now, I just love it! I wouldn't have stayed this long if I didn't. I love the work we do and the fact that it impacts people's lives. You can see the change that you're making.
Q: Do you have any advice for other nurses?
Jonas Nguh: My advice is, no matter your setting, to find one thing where there's a deficiency or there's a gap and begin to work to address or improve that. I think as nurses we're all charged to help improve the quality of life for people in our communities. I think if each of us does one thing every day toward that goal, we can help to develop a healthier nation and improve the quality of healthcare for everyone.
Imagine if every single nurse could do this every single day. We'd be making a huge impact that would improve healthcare. So, I think that's the one thing that I would say to every single nurse: Find one thing that you can do every day to better the lives of others or the patients you serve.
