It is even more important to note that as early as 2020, more than half the children in the United States will be part of a minority race or ethnic group. And by 2060, the US foreign-born population will grow to 19 percent (from 13 percent in 2014).
We also know that we, as a profession, do not have the nurses from underrepresented minority groups to match these shifts in population. This is in spite of our awareness of the overall need and the evidence that recruiting more persons from minority groups (racial and ethnic) will lead to more culturally competent care and help close gaps in care delivery.
Despite our attention and the efforts we have made, a recent survey conducted by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing and the Forum of State Workforce Centers found that only 19 percent of the RN workforce includes nurses from minority backgrounds (NCSBN, 2014). In fact, 83 percent of the RN population in the United States is white/Caucasian. It is likely that minority faculty in our schools of nursing are equally or even more underrepresented.
Some trends in enrollment in schools of nursing are encouraging, but the strides we have made are not consistent with changing demographics. And while foundations, schools, and organizations have implemented stellar programs to increase the numbers of nursing students from underrepresented minority groups, the increases are small.
What can we do to turn the tide in enrollments, so that our profession ranks reflect the US population? Certainly the image of nursing continues to be a challenge, as guidance counselors will most likely refer smart minority applicants to other professions. And within health care we continue to fight the physician/nurse image, wherein the physician is often seen and portrayed as both smarter and more competent.
Yet change often begins at the local level and swells nationally. What if each of us in the majority group pledged to provide career coaching to a nursing student from an underrepresented group? While nursing schools and organizations have done much to highlight representatives from underrepresented groups in their marketing campaigns, we need to move beyond the rhetoric. We also need more nursing education research that centers on the differences that cultural preparation makes to success in nursing practice and patient outcomes.
This is indeed a journey of a thousand miles[horizontal ellipsis] and it is important to keep the Chinese proverb in mind: A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.
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