The University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing recently
was cited by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) for
increasing the number of male and minority applicants and students in its
undergraduate program.
The college was one of about a dozen academic nursing institutions featured
in an article titled, Effective Strategies for Increasing Diversity in
Nursing Programs, in the latest issue of the AACNs Issue Bulletin. The
bulletin, published periodically, provides in-depth perspective on nursing
education developments shaping the national health care agenda.
The article was based on a survey of colleges in the association. The
survey asked what efforts the colleges were making in increasing diversity.
The bulletin is posted at: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Publications/issues/dec01.htm.
UNMC is featured quite prominently in the bulletin and serves as a
model for other schools to follow, said Robert Rosseter, director of public
affairs for the association.. I commend the college on its efforts to attract
underrepresented audiences into nursing.
The UNMC College of Nursing is highlighted as effectively using a combination
of recruitment techniques with innovative twists to reach out to men and
minorities. Minorities include African-Americans, Native Americans and
Hispanics.
In 2000-01, the college had an 84 percent increase in minority applications
with a 43 percent increase in admissions. Applications of males in the
same time period were up 54 percent with 77 percent admitted.
Attracting men and minorities into nursing is essential in maintaining
the integrity of the nursing profession, said Dani Eveloff, recruitment
coordinator, UNMC College of Nursing. Nursing schools must take the lead
in launching new and aggressive recruitment campaigns aimed at diversifying
the nursing workforce.
Eveloff said some of the tactics used by the college include: hiring
a nurse recruiter, updating marketing materials to reflect diversity, developing
and mailing letters about nursing programs in Spanish and visiting Native
American reservations. The college also communicates with counselors, teachers
and elementary, middle school and high school students and has developed
a system to track potential students.
The college also created a Web site to attract future students. Children
can learn about nursing at www.unmc.edu/nursing/careers.
The bulletin reported nursing schools enroll more diverse students Though
nursing schools enroll more diverse students than medical (10.5%) or dental
colleges (11%), the overwhelming majority of students in today’s baccalaureate
nursing programs are female (91%) from non-minority backgrounds (73.5%).
The concern is the profession does not mirror the nations population —
51 percent women and almost 33 percent minority.
It also points out many reasons why men and minority groups do not pursue
nursing, including role stereotypes, economic barriers, few mentors, gender
biases, and lack of direction from early authority figures.
UNMC is overcoming some of these barriers.
This bulletin validates that were reaching out, Eveloff said. We
went from 15 undergraduate applications when we started this effort in
1999 to 26 applications this year. Our numbers aren’t where we want them
to be yet, but it is a process.
Our drive is a result of trying to increase the number of nurses in
the profession, with a special emphasis on diversity. We also are helped
by UNMCs overall focus on increasing diversity, as well as the Office
of Student Equity and Multicultural Affairs, which does a lot of follow-up
with potential students.
The Issue Bulletin series is distributed to AACN’s more than 500 member
nursing schools nationwide, as well as key congressional leaders, state
and federal agency directors, heads of academic health centers, and other
health care and higher education officials whose decisions significantly
impact on nursing education and nursing research.