Diversity and the Nursing Workforce

This paper presents an analysis of the need for a racially and ethnically diverse nursing workforce worldwide. Nursing workforce diversity trends in the United States (US), from 1960 to present, are used to confirm the old adage, “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” Leaders in the health professions and policy makers have endorsed the idea that a diverse healthcare workforce is beneficial. In reality, policies and procedures in health professions education and practice do not adequately reflect the growing racial and ethnic diversity of the population groups that surround them. In the US as well as in other industrialized nations, migration is rapidly transforming previously ethnically homogeneous populations into diverse groups. By the year 2030, the US population is expected to comprise more than 30 percent racial/ethnic minority groups. Demographic trends in the US show that as least one of every four patients encountered by health professionals in a clinical setting will not share their, cultural, ethnic, nor linguistic backgrounds. Nursing and other health professions must achieve greater diversity to better reflect the general population. As nurses are the primary caregivers in the healthcare system worldwide, an adequate supply of nurses from diverse backgrounds is essential to achieving greater cultural competence in the healthcare setting and better patient outcomes. To this end, nursing education programs must take action to address the challenges of recruiting, retaining and graduating underrepresented minorities in order to ensure a diversified nursing workforce.