Academic Forum:
Coming Together to Succeed
Support groups can enhance the academic and career readiness
of minority nursing students
By Jan Taylor Fox, RNC, MSN
Five years ago, an African-American student at the University of
Texas at Austin School of Nursing was feeling lonely, socially isolated
and academically frustrated. She had no friends on campus; she was
failing her courses and she did not understand why she was receiving
such low grades on tests and assignments. There seemed to be nowhere for
her to turn—she felt there was no support on campus, no one to talk
to and no way to develop the skills she needed to improve her academic
performance.
This was the situation presented to me as one of the school’s
two African-American faculty members. I knew this student had the
potential to succeed, and I knew I needed to do something to help her
and other minority students who were in the same situation.
Our nursing program had a Learning Enhancement Center that offered
many resources to help students, such as providing tutors and mentors to
help students improve their study habits, writing and test-taking
skills. But we had noticed that very few African-American students were
taking advantage of the center. Clearly, for any program to succeed in
improving the academic performance of minority students, it had to make
them feel comfortable and accepted.
Together with the coordinator of the Learning Enhancement Center and
the student, we worked out a concept for a more culturally sensitive
alternative: a support group for minority students. The objectives for
the group, which was called the African-American Nursing Students
Association (AANSA), were to:
- Provide a comfortable environment where students encourage each
other to develop interpersonal skills, good study habits and academic
savvy.
- Encourage students to integrate themselves into the academic and
social life of the university.
- Increase the number of minority students entering and graduating
from the School of Nursing.
Creating a Network of Support
To ensure a large turnout for the support group’s first meeting,
we scheduled it for a time when most minority students were on campus,
and we sent out announcement notices. But the primary reason so many
students showed up was the persistence of the student who originally
came to me in need of support. She urged many of the African-American
nursing students to attend our first meeting.
During the first three meetings, students were reluctant to
communicate. Again, it was the enthusiasm and urging of the original
student that eventually motivated the group to talk openly with each
other and with the faculty advisor about their experiences and concerns.
They began by expressing their feelings of isolation. Many of them
were shy and hesitant to participate in classroom discussions, yet they
did not go to the faculty advisor for assistance because they felt
asking for help would be admitting weakness. They saw the university and
the school of nursing as an unfriendly environment that did not include
them, and they did not feel connected to the social or educational
resources of the university.
The first meetings were unstructured: the students concentrated on
sharing their experiences. Eventually they began talking about practical
concerns, such as professors and classes, their study problems, their
test-taking abilities and where they could go for help. After
establishing a habit of communication and participation in the group,
the students and faculty advisor developed a more structured format to
help the veteran students progress and the beginning students become
integrated into the group.
One hour-long meeting was scheduled each month. The group members
appointed the original student president, and she consulted with the
faculty advisor and the Learning Enhancement Center coordinator to set
an agenda. Generally, the group focused on a formal topic for the first
half hour, such as the resources available for developing writing
skills. Speakers often made presentations at this time. The president
used the next 15 minutes to pass along timely information, such as news
of an upcoming conference. During the last 15 minutes, students talked
informally together, often staying after the meeting to continue their
conversations.
Achieving Success—Together
In the beginning, I expected that once the minority student support
group had achieved its goals, the members would no longer continue to
meet. I assumed they would begin to participate in the general nursing
student group, the University of Texas Nursing Students Association
(UTNSA), and would have no further need for the AANSA.
After participating in the support group, many students did join
UTNSA and began taking advantage of the benefits offered by the
university and the school of nursing. They were more comfortable
expressing themselves in class and more inclined to make friends with
students from a variety of backgrounds. They participated more in the
general student organizations and began working with the faculty and
staff on volunteer projects. Their grades improved because they were no
longer afraid to use resources like the Learning Enhancement Center. But
the AANSA did not go out of existence.
Currently, the group consists of 14 students, all of whom are female.
Members are actively involved with other campus groups, and there is an
AANSA representative on the UTNSA board. In addition, the AANSA students
are actively working in the minority community. They have organized a
program called “Operation Grow-a-Nurse” to tutor and mentor
middle-school students. They help the students with their schoolwork and
encourage them to think about furthering their education at professional
schools, such as a school of nursing.
AANSA has given students and faculty the opportunity to interact with
each other in an informal environment, allowing them to move beyond the
formality of the academic setting. The group has changed the way faculty
members work with students. They taught us that it was all right to
approach a student who was doing poorly and suggest that he or she come
in for help. The group helped orient the faculty toward the needs and
learning styles of minority students, which encouraged instructors to
adapt their teaching styles to help students succeed.
And finally, now that the group is cohesive and functioning well, it
is time, based on students’ requests, to focus on career
development.
Tips for Organizing Your Own Support Network
We learned five main lessons from our experience with the AANSA group
that could benefit other nursing schools interested in forming a
minority student network.
- There must be at least one student who is enthusiastic about the
group, who urges others to participate and who takes responsibility for
keeping the group active.
- Initially, the students in the group should be close enough in
culture and experience that they feel comfortable talking with each
other and sharing their feelings. This group was African American, and
the student interaction might not have jelled if other minorities had
participated, because the shared experiences would not have been there.
After the group became established, it was easier to bring in students
from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
- The group’s purpose was to integrate students into the
university community. This process, however, takes several years and
must be given time to achieve momentum. Students see other students
benefiting from the group and become more interested in joining. It is
only recently that the AANSA students have become involved in the larger
student organization.
- It is important to have a faculty advisor who guides the group and
is someone with whom the students feel comfortable.
- These students have commented that they would like the group to
focus more on their unique cultural background and the contributions
they can make as a group to the university and the community.
The participating students and I, as the faculty advisor, continue to
see the group filling a need, even though the students are beginning to
successfully participate in the general academic and social life of the
university.
Jan Taylor Fox, RNC, MSN, has taught psychiatric/mental health
nursing as a clinical instructor at the University of Texas at Austin
School of Nursing for over 20 years. She has received seven teaching
awards, has sponsored student groups since 1979 and continues to work on
developing ways to bring out the potential of all students.
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