Opened Practices Users Named: Maria Elena Ruiz

3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road
3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road

Mailcode: L346

“The opportunities for professional and personal growth are magnified as we participate in multiple ways of learning, teaching, providing health care, researching, and reaching out to diverse communities.”

Maria Elena Ruiz, Ph.D., RN, FNP-BC
Assistant Professor
School of Nursing

Dr. Ruiz is with the School of Nursing at OHSU. She is an Assistant Professor with the Oregon MPH program; Primary Health Care & Health Disparities track. At OHSU, Dr. Ruiz was associated with the Center for Health Disparities, and completed a two –year certificate training program in clinical and translational research methodology, earning a Certificate in Human Investigations. Her teaching and clinical work focuses on Latino community health issues, cultural competency, and the integration of culture, language, and western and traditional models of care. Dr. Ruiz has been involved in various Community Based Participatory Research projects , exploring intimate partner violence, workplace violence against Indigenous Farmworkers, chronic illness management, and aging in Latino communities. Prior to coming to OHSU, Dr. Ruiz taught at the University of Southern California, where she was founder and Director of the Spanish language/Latino culture programs.

Community outreach is a major focus for Dr. Ruiz; developing collaborative relationships with hard to reach communities. She feels that opportunities to develop partnerships and collaborations with others who have diverse perspectives strengthen the team approach and provides a more holistic healing environment. Her own personal global health perspective has been expanded through her teaching, research, clinical, and volunteer experiences working with incarcerated youth, farmworkers, women and children experiencing violence, and families without insurance.