Saturday, 21 April 2018: 10:50 AM
Educating a nursing workforce with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide quality care to diverse populations is critically necessary to reduce health disparities among underserved populations. Schools of nursing are currently challenged in serving students from historically underrepresented communities who aspire to become baccalaureate nurses. This project describes a collaborative partnership between a school of nursing and a tertiary care hospital to enable working health care paraprofessionals from historically underrepresented groups to access and successfully progress through a baccalaureate nursing program. Unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) employed at the hospital, predominantly Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino, were the target population for the project. The UAP positions consisted of patient care associates, critical care technicians, patient companions, unit secretaries, and transporters. Ten qualified students were selected from 65 applications of unlicensed UAPs. Key program components contributing to the success of this cohort of students included: 1) academic support; 2) mentoring; 3) a nursing education navigator, serving as an educational case manager; 4) workplace support; and 5) financial support. In order to achieve success for these students, academic and psychological supports were planned for and implemented. Academic supports included a one-year foundational curriculum to build academic skills and refresh basic knowledge in math, English, and the life sciences; recitations for foundational courses, prerequisite life science courses, and introductory nursing courses; extensive academic support workshops; and a cohort program supporting integration into the university learning community. Additional supports included a Nursing Education Navigator (NEN), conceived as academia’s counterpart to the patient navigator, and a Hospital Project Coordinator (HPC) working together to holistically assess, support and assist students during their educational journey. The NEN, functioned as a source of guidance, advocacy, and support within the academic institution to mitigate individual barriers to academic success and maximize access to available support services and networks within the academic institution. The HCP interfaced frequently with the director of nursing education and the employees’ nurse managers in the interest of designating stable work schedules for the students and troubleshooting other actual and/or potential workplace issues. In addition to the integral roles of the NEN and the HCP, other psychosocial supports included school of nursing advisors; faculty members of the project team; peers from the school of nursing; and baccalaureate nurse mentors, recruited from the students’ respective units, who interfaced regularly with the students in the interest of student success in the classroom and workplace settings. These BSN RN mentors, were strongly invested in seeing their mentees achieve their goal of a BSN and provided coaching, tutoring, and ongoing advice. Other mentors included the students’ unit-based educator and, in some cases, their nursing clinical leaders. Mentorship, an important component in the academic success of underrepresented students, provided needed student support and professional socialization from competent, enthusiastic nurse role models from the academic and work environments. Financial support included tuition and fees, stipends, state and federal aid, and educational financial support from the hospital. Success of underrepresented, working students in baccalaureate nursing programs is dependent on a concerted academic, workplace, and community team effort to maximize resources and integrate students into the social and academic life of such a rigorous educational program. To date, six of the ten UAP students have matriculated into the school of nursing; are maintaining above a 3.0 GPA as a nursing student; continue to work a flexible, full time schedule; and are respected, responsible members of the hospital staff. This project addresses a way to meet the national need of a more diverse nurse workforce and contributes to increasing nursing education opportunities for individuals who are from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds.