Background
A general nursing shortage is worrisome to the nursing profession and to the health of the United States. But a shortage in African American nurses is even more troublesome. Minority groups in the United States constitute 25% of the population with approximately 12% African American. By the year 2015, one third of the nation will be ethnically and culturally diverse, with African Americans expected to increase to 20%. Yet, African American student enrollment in baccalaureate nursing programs has experienced a precipitous drop over the past 20 years. Current recruitment and retention strategies fail to address the immediate need for African American nurses and generally do not plan for long-term recruitment of students.
Career Choices of African American Students in Higher Education
• Business
• Education
• Engineering
• Computer Science
• Law
• Medicine
Health Career Choices of African American Students
• Associate Degree Nursing
• Licensed Practical Nursing
• Licensed Vocational Nursing
• Certified Nursing Assistant
• Medical Assistant
• Medical Technology
Recruitment Strategy Weaknesses
• Broad and general without regard to cultural sensitivity
• Often rely on remediation and financial assistance as primary strategies
• Fail to market nursing as a career competitive with careers frequently selected by African American college students
• Minimal attention to curricular and institutional issues:
- cultural diversity in the curriculum
- accommodation of different learning styles
- African American faculty, role models, and peers |
Recommendations
• Provide minority faculty, advisors, role models, mentors, and peer support
• Target African American licensed nurses without baccalaureate degrees, allied health professionals without nursing degrees, high school scholars, and outstanding graduate students from other disciplines for recruitment
• Provide financial assistance
• For Associate Degree RN’s:
- Grant credit for traditional clinical courses
- Design coursework for completion in one academic year
- Offer classes at hospitals and other health agencies for the convenience of students
- Focus the curriculum on professional issues, ethics, community health, and case management |
• For Licensed Practical Nurses:
- Grant credit for pharmacology and technical skills
- Provide peer support with associate degree nursing students
- Provide part-time study options |
• For High School Students:
Adopt an Athletic Coach Paradigm
- Establish, cultivate and maintain close relationships with guidance counselors, science, math and health teachers
- Attend (scout) academic competitions at high schools
- Make home visits to potential students and their families
- Provide campus visits to colleges and schools of nursing |
• For Graduate Students:
- Recruit from historically black colleges and universities
- Use “bridge programs” that lead to graduate education in nursing
- Market career opportunities in nursing: Advance Practice Nursing Specialties, Nursing Education, and Nursing Administration |
Prepared by:
Becky Fields, PhD (c), MSN, RN
bfields@mail.utk.edu
Doctoral Candidate
University of Tennessee
Ms. Fields completed the above work in partial fulfillment of course requirements for N611, Issues in Nursing. Strategies for the recruitment of African American nursing students, authored by Fields and Dr. Nancy B. Moody was published in the Tennessee Nurse, 64(3), pages 10-12, entitled A View through a Different Lens: Strategies for increasing the Number of African American Nurses. She is also completing a phenomenological research study examining the experience of African American nursing students in a baccalaureate nursing program that was funded in part by Sigma Theta Tau, Gamma Chi Chapter.
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