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Abstract: The nursing profession has fewer racial and ethnic minority groups than the United States population, at large (Campbell, n.d.). Racial / ethnic minority students have lower admission and retention rates than White non-Hispanic students. A review of strategies reveals that to recruit and retain racial / ethnic minority students, schools of nursing will have to use interventions that reach diverse student populations, make connections with middle and high school students, support students during the application process, and mentor current students.
Key Words: Cultural Diversity, Transcultural Nursing, Nursing Education, Nursing Schools, Students, Nursing
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) (2002) found that the causes of health disparities are multifactorial, and noted that finding solutions to eliminate health disparities will require understanding the causes. Causes, including race and ethnicity, can be observed at the patient level, health care system level, and provider level. This article will focus on underrepresentation of minorities in the nursing profession as one such cause at the provider level.
Provider level sources of disparities included clinical uncertainty, stereotyping, medical decision making under time pressure with limited information, and provider prejudice or bias. Many studies have suggested that provider bias and beliefs about the health behaviors of minority patients contribute principally to disparities in care (Coffman, Rosenoff, & Grumbach, 2001; Lantz, Lyncg, House, Lepkowski, Mero, Musick, & Williams, 2001; and IOM, 2002). Burgess, Fu, and van Ryn (2004) also established that wellintentioned providers who are motivated to be non-prejudiced may stereotype racial and ethnic minority patients under certain conditions such as, time pressures, fatigue, and information overload - all characteristics frequently found in health care settings.
Because nursing is the nations' largest health care profession, in many instances a nurse will be the patient's first point of contact with the health care system (American Nurses Association, 2008). Ballantyne (2008) states that nurses spend more time in assessing and managing patients than any other health care professional. According to Ballantyne (2008) nurses have to be aware of patient's beliefs, religion, culture, values, and other factor that influence their access to health and healthcare. Furthermore, research has consistently documented that racial and ethnic minority health professionals are more likely to provide culturally competent care to racial and ethnic minorities (Leininger, 1995). For these reasons it...