For the past decade, the nursing profession has made diversity a priority. While the numbers in the profession — less than 25 percent minority nurses — do not yet mirror the general population of the United States — 38 percent non-White people — solid efforts and strategies are at work to facilitate change.
In the near future, a severe shortage of nurses is expected due to the healthcare needs of aging baby boomers, new opportunities for nurses to take the lead in primary care and current nurses retiring.
The fact sheet published by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) notes that registered nursing (RN) is listed among the top growing occupations according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Projections 2014-24. The expansion of the RN workforce will warrant an increase of approximately 439,300 individuals by 2024. There will also be a need for 649,100 replacement nurses due to attrition and retirement. That means there are going to be more than one million nursing jobs to fill that need for qualified RNs.
Recruiting and training nurses who reflect the diversity of the American population are important to maximizing healthcare outcomes.
“Healthcare is an extremely personal experience,” says Dr. Joyce Knestrick, president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. “Patients want to have a relationship with their provider and cultural connections can help patients feel more comfortable in discussing their health concerns and issues.”
From 2008 to 2015, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation sponsored AACN’s New Careers in Nursing (NCIN) scholarship program. Grants went out to 130 schools in 41 states and the District of Columbia that funded students in both bachelor’s and master’s programs. The end result is 2,706 individuals earned the bachelor’s of nursing degree (BSN) and 801 earned their master’s.
Data gathered provides valuable insights into how to successfully support students from underrepresented populations so they not only enroll in nursing school but also graduate and become part of the nursing workforce. Scholarships that cover incidentals in addition to tuition are helpful. Another factor is community engagement, says Dr. Vernell DeWitty, former deputy director of NCIN and now AACN’s director of diversity and inclusion. AACN also advocates for a pre-entry immersion program that includes time management, study skills, math and medical terminology.
