The year 2003 was a busy one for the National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Associations (NCEMNA). Among other accomplishments, the coalition established a strong Internet presence by launching a Web site, www.ncemna.org. It also created an important new resource for helping to increase the number of people of color entering the nursing profession: the Aetna/NCEMNA Scholars Program.
Formed in 1998 to provide a unified, powerful voice for the nation’s racial and ethnic minority nursing professionals, NCEMNA is a collaborative organization made up of the five leading national minority nursing associations:
• Asian American/Pacific Islander Nurses Association (AAPINA)
• National Alaska Native American Indian Nurses Association (NANAINA)
• National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN)
• National Black Nurses Association (NBNA)
• Philippine Nurses Association of America (PNAA).
The new NCEMNA.org site serves as a convenient, centralized source of information about the five member associations, including each group’s current leadership, upcoming annual conferences and contact information for potential new members. There is also a direct link to each association’s own Web site.
In addition, visitors to NCEMNA.org can read about the coalition’s mission of advocating for equity and justice in nursing and health care for ethnic minority populations. For example, some of NCEMNA’s current goals include: advocacy for culturally competent, accessible and affordable health care; development of minority nurse leaders in the areas of health policy, practice, education and research; and promotion of the professional and educational advancement of minority nurses.
One of the coalition’s newest strategies for accomplishing this last goal is providing scholarship assistance for outstanding nursing students of color through the new Aetna/NCEMNA Scholars Program. Supported by a grant from the Aetna Foundation, the annual program selects one student from each of the five member associations to enhance their competency through specially selected educational experiences, working with a mentor and a $2,000 cash award. Potential scholarship recipients, who must be pursuing nursing studies at the BSN level or higher, are nominated by their respective associations.
The first five Aetna/NCEMNA Scholarship winners, selected in 2003, are:
• Maritess Binonwagon, University of Hawaii at Manoa (AAPINA winner)
• Katie Chapman, University of Oklahoma Nursing Program (NANAINA winner)
• Graciela Adriana Rodriguez Santos, Howard University (NAHN winner)
• Jamise Christine Herbert, Hampton University School of Nursing (NBNA winner)
• Jovita Solomon-Duarte, RN, CCRN, College of Nursing, Seton Hall University (PNAA winner).