Nursing workforce diversity
Program aimed at increasing recruitment, retention of minorities in nursing
11:25 a.m., Nov. 18, 2014--The University of Delaware School of Nursing has won a three-year, $1 million grant from the federal Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to enhance nursing workforce diversity.
The program, which is led by assistant professor Cynthia Diefenbeck with professor Paula Klemm serving as evaluation coordinator, includes mentoring and financial, social and academic support to increase recruitment and retention of underrepresented minorities in nursing.
Campus Stories
From graduates, faculty
Doctoral hooding
Diefenbeck and Klemm point out that the demand for culturally competent health care services in Delaware continues to rise, while its supply of culturally and ethnically diverse nurses remains stagnant.
“The inequality between the diversity of the residents and the health care workforce will grow as Delaware’s minority population exceeds its present level, which is about 30 percent,” Diefenbeck says. “Delaware’s African Americans and Latinos bear the brunt of health inequality — and are more likely to live in medically underserved areas or designated as medically underserved populations.”
Diefenbeck also emphasizes that while financial support is a critical component of the solution, it is not enough. “We have to address systemic as well as individual factors,” she says. “We need to change the entire environment and make it more culturally appropriate.”
To meet this need, UD has developed a comprehensive, multi-level program of intervention strategies targeted not only to students and faculty in the School of Nursing but also to the larger community. Unique features include mentoring, academic advisement, structured leadership, research and clinical experiences in medically underserved areas and with medically underserved populations.
“As a microcosm of the nationwide effort to diversify the nursing workforce, Delaware provides a living laboratory within which to test innovative recruitment and retention programs that can be generalized and adapted nationwide,” Diefenbeck says.
KaWansi Newton-Freeman, a UD alumna who received a bachelor of science in nursing degree in 2007, has been hired as recruitment and retention coordinator for the program. She is joined by clinical assistant professor and co-investigator Pia Inguito, who will serve as a part-time coordinator for the program. Rounding out the team is doctoral candidate Robbi Alexander, who will participate in various components of the three-year grant.
Following a competitive application and interview process, nine freshmen scholars were chosen to receive support within the grant. The Nursing Workforce Diversity (NWD) Scholars hail from four different countries, six have parents who were born outside the U.S., and the participants speak six languages among them: Spanish, Tagalog, Korean, Shona, German and English.
“The value of the grant far exceeds the scholarship money being awarded to students,” Newton-Freeman says. “It not only provides them with a strong sense of belonging, but also reinforces their perceptions of self-worth and significance as nursing students.”
Inguito adds, “In addition to the program activities provided to our scholars, the grant is supporting group tutoring for selected nursing courses for a range of nursing students.”
Additional activities to promote inclusion at all levels of the school will be rolled out throughout the year.
Carol Henderson, vice provost for diversity, says she sees the field of nursing as a powerful vehicle to use in discussing the pressing need to diversify the health care profession, examine health care inequities, and develop cultural competencies.
“The opportunities this grant will provide for our students and faculty are just the first step in entering this dynamic conversation,” she says. “The next step is to build upon the momentum of this program to continue our efforts to create a more diverse and supportive academic community that encourages student success. I look forward to working with the HRSA team on this initiative.”
Article by Diane Kukich
Photo by Evan Krape