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OBJECTIVES: Multiple initiatives have been undertaken at local, state and national levels in attempts to diversify the workforce of the profession of nursing, with little change in the racial and ethnic composition of practicing nurses over the past decade. METHODS: An examination of nursing education programs reveals that same homogeneity in the nursing student population despite significant increases in the diversity of the general student population on college and university campuses. RESULTS: The lack of diversity in the faculty and administrative positions in nursing education programs intensifies the problem of recruiting and retaining minority students in the discipline of nursing. CONCLUSIONS: Strategies need to be identified whereby the personal and educational needs of students can be met in a supportive environment. Mentoring is a significant strategy for nurse educators to explore and incorporate into relational interactions with diverse student populations.
KEY WORDS: Diversity; Education; Mentoring; Nursing, Retention
The composition of the nation's population reflects an increasing segment of racially and ethnically diverse persons. Demographers project that by 2020 the percentage people of white European descent will have declined from the current level of sixty seven percent to only fifty three percent (U .S. Census Bureau, 2004). Health care professionals have been particularly attentive to these changing demographics with the provision of culturally competent health care identified as a national goal. Cultural competence refers to a complex integration of knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, customs, skills, policies and resources that enhance cross-cultural communication, effective interactions with others, and the provision of health care that is congruent with the beliefs and practices of people from diverse backgrounds (Andrews, 2003; Sullivan Commission, 2004). Culturally competent care is believed to be more effective in adequately addressing both the disparities in health care access and outcomes because it focuses on individuals, groups, agencies, and health care professions.
In contrast to the changing demographics of the United States population, the workforce composition of the profession of nursing continues to reflect a level of sustained homogeneity, which does not mirror the racial and ethnic composition found in the population at large. Although thirty three percent of the United States population identifies with one of the federal racial and ethnic minority groups, only 12.3% of the nation's nursing workforce reflects an ethnic minority heritage....