Concurrent enrollment pathway: A model for ADN-BSN programs.

Introduction: The purpose of this article is to share the collaborative planning and execution of these two public universities and one community college in developing an innovative program to increase BSN-prepared nurses. The aim of the collaboration is to offer a high quality, affordable, and time-saving pre-licensure, concurrent enrollment program (CEP) which allows community college ADN students direct access to BSN study, while maintaining excellent program outcomes, and increasing diverse baccalaureate-prepared nurses in practice.

Methods: Key stakeholders in two public educational systems met to discuss the development of a regional collaboration between two state universities and one local community college.

Transforming Students' Educational Experience Through Cultural Mindedness, Peer Mentoring, and Student Input.

Background: Increasing student diversity within schools of nursing requires a shift in the educational environment to consider student challenges, need for support, and other cultural variances.

Method: This article describes a three-pronged process of instilling cultural mindfulness training to faculty, staff, and administrators, augmenting student support through peer mentoring and a new method of sharing student perspectives of the educational environment with administration to co-design new approaches to support students.

Results: The entire process resulted in an increased sensitization to the importance of student perspectives as key players in the pursuit of a culture of inclusion for nursing education.

Enhancing the Educational Environment for Diverse Nursing Students Through Mentoring and Shared Governance.

Background: A structured peer-mentoring program for diverse nursing students culminated in shared governance meetings between mentors and program coordinators to address mentees' concerns and issues.

Method: After informed consent, mentees reviewed mentor profiles online and selected mentors. Baseline data were collected on ethnic identity, lifestyle, social support, and academic habits.

Professionalization and retention outcomes of a university-service mentoring program partnership.

With the use of a university-service partnership to introduce mentoring and shared governance, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of these interventions on nurse perceptions of the supportive culture of the workplace environment, professional skill development, decisional involvement, and retention and vacancy rates. A nonequivalent pretest-posttest, noncontrol group design was used with mentors of newly hired mentees to evaluate their workplace perspectives following mentor classes, ongoing mentor support, and a formal mentor-management workforce governance board. A convenience sample of 89 RNs from two acute care facilities attended mentoring and professionalization classes and worked with 109 mentees over 1-3 years.