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AACN Offers Advice on Increasing Diversity at Nursing Schools

According to the newest U.S. Census figures, 49% of America’s population is male and nearly 33% are racial or ethnic minorities. But you’d never know it by looking at the nation’s nursing schools: The American Association of Colleges of Nursing reports that the vast majority of students currently enrolled in baccalaureate nursing programs are still female (91%) and Caucasian (73.5%).

But this doesn’t mean that nursing schools aren’t doing anything to try to increase the diversity of their student bodies—and ultimately, that of the nursing profession. Many colleges and universities throughout the country have developed highly innovative initiatives for recruiting and retaining more men and students of color into their nursing degree programs. And while it may take some time before the nursing student population truly mirrors that of the U.S. as a whole, many of these diversity recruiting campaigns are starting to make a real difference in attracting more students from underrepresented groups into the field.

To help nursing institutions learn from these success stories and increase the effectiveness of their own diversity initiatives, AACN has published a special Issue Bulletin, “Effective Strategies for Increasing Diversity in Nursing Programs.” Intended as a “best practices” survey of campaigns that have achieved outstanding results, the report presents examples of proven-successful strategies in seven key areas:
• Presenting an inclusive image
• Reaching out to diverse student populations
• Making connections at the middle/high school level
• Supporting students through the application process
• Mentoring as the key to retention
• Facilitating student success
• Launching a coordinated outreach campaign.

The 14 nursing schools whose initiatives are spotlighted in the report include the University of North Florida, which has raised minority representation in its nursing classes from 2% to 20%; Montana State University-Bozeman, where the current enrollment of Native American nursing students is up 100% over fall 2000; and the College of Nursing at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which in 2000-2001 increased its admissions of minority and male students by 43% and 77%, respectively.

For a free copy of the four-page Issue Bulletin, contact the American Association of Colleges of Nursing at (202) 463-6930, fax (202) 785-8320. The complete report can also be downloaded from AACN’s Web site at www.aacn.nche.edu/Publications/issues/ dec01.htm.