Interventions to Support Diversity in Nursing Education.

Background: Despite increased awareness of the importance of cultural competence in the reduction of health care disparities, the nursing profession does not reflect the patient demographics of the United States. The purpose of this article is to report the results of a comprehensive review of the experiences of nontraditional nursing students in undergraduate nursing programs and the interventions used by nursing programs to increase their success.

Method: Data from 13 studies were extracted, summarized, and synthesized.

Social Determinants and Educational Barriers to Successful Admission to Nursing Programs for Minority and Rural Students.

In 2010, the Institute of Medicine made a recommendation in The Future of Nursing Report to diversify the student population of the health care professions in order to provide increasing minority providers to meet the culturally competent needs of the growing multicultural populations of the United States (Institute of Medicine, 2010). The Nursing Network and Careers and Technology Nurse Mentoring Program provides a nursing mentor to underrepresented ethnic minority and educationally disadvantaged students and a significant scholarship and stipend for tuition and monthly living expenses. Ethnically diverse and rural students have lifelong familial and geographical educational barriers that prevent them from succeeding.

INCREASING DIVERSITY IN OUR SCHOOLS OF NURSING.

This article will review one school's quest to address the multi-level social, historical, environmental and structural determinants faced by under-represented ethnic minorities (UREM) and disadvantaged background (DB) students as they seek entrance into a nursing program. Nursing Network Careers and Technology (NN-CAT) provides a nursing career network for underrepresented and disadvantaged students in western North Carolina and has increased the number of underrepresented and disadvantaged students who are admitted, retained and graduate with a bachelor's degree in nursing from Western Carolina University. Initial data from this NN-CAT program have demonstrated that addressing social determinants and eliminating barriers can increase the number of UREM and educationally disadvantaged students who successfully matriculate in our schools of Nursing and subsequently graduate.

An academic-community partnership to address the flu vaccination rates of the homeless.

Objective: The objective of this pilot research study was to explore the beliefs and barriers to flu vaccination from a sample homeless population in a small metropolitan community.

Design And Sample: In a collaborative academic-community partnership of a university undergraduate nursing education program, a local health department, and nonprofit agencies, a social marketing education program was developed by nursing students which included surveying the homeless for perceptions regarding flu vaccinations. There were a total of 87 homeless subjects that were surveyed.

Educational innovation: collaborative mentoring for future nursing leaders.

This article discusses a unique educational partnership between nurse leaders and a university baccalaureate nursing program that nurtures future nursing administrators. A structured mentoring process in which students are guided through an internship with nursing administrators and executives promotes development of a career focus, leading novices to a more mature role on their career journeys.

International collaboration in pediatric nursing: mutual learning success.

This article describes an innovative international collaboration between a children's hospital in the United Kingdom and a university school of nursing in the United States that created opportunities for networking among nurses in similar specialties. Nurses from two countries joined in an educational partnership to share dialogue and clinical experience in the United Kingdom.

International collaboration: a concept model to engage nursing leaders and promote global nursing education partnerships.

This article describes a newly developed, internationally focused concept model, Engaging tomorrow's international nursing leaders (ETINL). The primary tenets of the ETINL model encourage advocacy, activism, and professional accountability in preparing nursing leadership. The article presents the foundation and application of the ETINL model in providing an on-going forum for student and faculty exploration of global nursing issues.

Promoting collaboration in nursing education: the development of a regional simulation laboratory.

This article describes a collaboratively developed plan for a regional patient simulation laboratory for nursing education. The Western North Carolina Regional Simulation Laboratory will be located at the Enka Campus of the Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College at the Department of Nursing of Western Carolina University (Candler, NC). A proactive collaborative consortium has been established to help meet the demand for nursing education in the 13 most rural mountain counties of western North Carolina.