Specialties: Family Medicine
Languages: English, Spanish
Areas of Expertise: Pre-diabetes and Diabetes among US-Mexico border residents, Cardiovascular Disease, Endocrinology
I believe in providing a holistic, cultural and social approach to medicine. I serve not only the physical needs of my patients, but also their spiritual needs.
As a nurse practitioner, Rudy Valenzuela’s work is not a career. Caring for patients is part of his mission, which also includes ministering to souls as a Catholic priest. Whether caring for a patient or parishioner, he strives to satisfy their physical, spiritual and social necessities.
Born in Yuma, and raised right on the Mexico-United States border, Rudy set out early in life to give back to his community. He founded clinics in San Luis, Arizona, as well as in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, where he seeks the reward of treating the underprivileged and providing access to care. He is a seminary and university graduate. Rudy earned his Master of Science in nursing as well as his Ph.D. in Nursing at the University of Arizona. He also maintains fellow status with the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP) and the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN).
In his free time, Rudy enjoys rescuing stray dogs, reading biographies, gardening and traveling.
2010 Quality, Globalization & Nursing.
Presented at the 1st. International Nursing Conference, Puerto
Peñasco, Sonora, October 31, 2010
2009 Healthcare Beliefs of the Latino Patient.
Presented at the 61st Annual Meeting of the National Hemophilia
Foundation, San Francisco, CA, October 31, 2009.
2008 The Use of Ethnographic Methods in Nursing Research.
Presented at the 4th International Congress of the Hospital Civil de
Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, September 18, 2008.
2007 Prescripción de Medicamentos por Enfermeria (Prescriptive
Issues in Nursing).
Presented at the XX Anniversary Conference of the Tijuana Nursing
Association, Tijuana, B.C. Mexico, July 14, 2007.
2007 Case Management for the Homeless Patient.
Presented at the American Case Management Association, Southern
California Chapter Conference, February 28, 2007.
2007 Desafio de las Asociaciones Nacionales e Internacionales de
Enfermeria en el Contexto Sociopolitico. (National and
International Nursing Organizations and their Role in the
Sociopolitical Context ).
Panel presentation at the Mexican National Congress of Nursing,
Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, February 15, 2007.
2006 Effective Strategies for Delivering Culturally Appropriate
Health Care Services to Latinos; Also, Can You Hear Me Now?
Bridging the Language Gap in Health Care Settings
Panel presentations presented at the Inaugural Central Virginia
Latino Health Summit, Richmond, VA, November 16-17, 2006.
2006 Immigration and Nursing: Issues of Social Justice
Keynote Address presented at the National Association of Hispanic
Nurses, Michigan Chapter, Annual Nursing Scholarship Fundraising
Gala, Grand Rapids, MI, November 10, 2006
2006 Commit to Nursing: Together We Can Make a Difference
Endnote Address presented at the California Nursing Students
Association 2006 Conference, Anaheim, CA October 4, 2006
2006 The Role of Nurses on Implementing Social Justice.
Keynote Address presented at the Día de los Niños Conference,
National Association of Hispanic Nurses, Orange County, California,
April 22, 2006
2006 Cultural Dimensions of Diabetes: Perceptions of Risk of
Mexican Americans
Poster Presented at the 39th Annual Communicating Nursing
Research Conference, Western Institute of Nursing, Albuquerque,
New Mexico, April 7, 2006.
2006 Utilización de la Teoria Crítica Social en la Investigación:
Puntos Claves ara Enfermería (Utilization of Critical Social
Theory in Research: Key Points for Nursing).
Presented at the XI Jornada Estatal & 1era. Internacional de Enfermería,
Hermosillo Sonora, México, March 31, 2006.
2005 Socratic Dialogue: Health Care Disparities & Culturally
Competent Care.
Presented at the Kaiser Permanente National Diversity Conference,
San Francisco, California, November 2, 2005.
2005 The Role of Nurse Practitioners on Border Health.
Presented at the 2nd. Scientific Annual Conference of Professional
Nurses, Colegio de Profesionales en Enfermería del Estado de Sonora,
Hermosillo, Sonora, México,
August 20, 2005
2005 Obesity, Diabetes & Hypertension Among Hispanics.
Presented at the 10th Annual Conference of the Arizona Interagency
Farm Worker Coalition, Yuma, Arizona, March 15, 2005.
2005 Scholarship Writing Workshop.
Presented at the Arizona Western College, February, 2005
2004 Border Health: Why We Should Care.
Presented at the 7th annual FACES Conference, November.
2004 Scholarship, Mentorship, & Stewardship: The Three Ships
We Navigate on. Keynote Address presented at Gala Dinner of the
National Association of Hispanic Nurses, San Diego Chapter,
November, 2006.
2004 Scholarship & Mentorship: Santo Remedio.
Presented at Día de Los Muertos Conference at the National
Association of Hispanic Nurses, Orange County Chapter,
October, 2004.
2004 A Look at Federal Objectives in Cultural Competence in
Nursing Curriculum. Presented at the Research Conference Day at
the University of Arizona, College of Nursing, March, 2004.
2003 Descriptive Analysis of Spirituality & Nursing for the Hispanic
Nurse. Presented at the 28th Annual National Association of
Hispanic Nurses Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico, July, 2003.
2004 Humanity, Hope, and Health for Our Children. Presented at the
9th. Annual National Association of Hispanic Nurses Conference, LA
Chapter. Pasadena, CA.
2002 The Emergence of Community Health Workers as Healthcare
Professionals. Presented at the 5th. National Promotoras
Conference. San Antonio, TX, August, 2002.
2002 Hispanursing: Creating Practical Theory
Presented at the 27th. Annual Conference of the National Association
of Hispanic Nurses, Miami, FL, July, 2002.
2001 Spirituality for the Community Health Worker
Presented at the Fourth National CHW’s Conference, San Diego,
CA, August, 2001.
2001 The Creation of a Binational Continuing Medical Education
Committee. Presented at the 59th. Annual Meeting of the US/
Mexico Border Health Association, Las Cruces, NM, May, 2001.
2000 Espiritualidad y Enfermería: Quitate los Zapatos (Spirituality &
Nursing: Take Off your Shoes).
Presented at the 2nd. Nursing Conference of the Mexican Social
Security Institute, San Luis, R.C., Sonora, Mexico, February, 2000.
1999 Spirituality & Nursing: A Descriptive Analysis of Spirituality &
Nursing.
Presented at the Annual Conference of the Chicago/Bolivian
Partnership in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, October, 1999.
