Other Titles
Rapid Presentation Round
Abstract
Illustrate the value of strategic academic partnerships between Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to increase diversity in nurse practitioner (NP) academic programs.
Healthcare workforce diversity improves health outcomes for minoritized populations. Advanced practice nurses (APNs) are cornerstones of the primary care workforce. However, less than 10% of practicing NPs are Black. Barriers include lack of APN faculty diversity, student access to higher education, awareness, and cost. Pipeline programs such as summer immersion programs have effectively increased knowledge, increased interest, fostered mentorship, and prepared minoritized students for the graduate school application process. Faculty at a PWI developed a collaborative partnership with a local HBCU to support current BSN students from minoritized backgrounds interested in advanced practice nursing. HBCU students were recruited via flyers, a recorded message, and word of mouth from faculty for a 1-week summer intensive at the PWI. Since 2021, the program has welcomed 19 HBCU students, majority women (n=18). The average age of participants is 23.7, with 16% first-generation college students and first-generation graduate students. Summer Scholars receive an introduction to APN practice, collaborative and individualized professional and personal development, an introduction to health equity for providers, and clinical exposure alongside current APN students, current APNs, and previous program scholars who have enrolled in graduate school. The results of this program are highly positive. All summer scholars felt the program completely satisfied their expectations, and all program objectives met their expectations to an above-average extent.
Future program goals include expanding the reach to HBCU nursing students nationwide. The program has expanded collaboration to include post-intensive activities, mentorship, and ongoing support for student scholars. Other outcomes include mutually beneficial cooperation between PWI and HBCU faculty to develop cross-teaching opportunities, peer mentoring, scholarship, and other partnership initiatives. This is to increase the visibility of Black and other faculty of color for minoritized students interested in graduate nursing education. Two students from the first cohort have enrolled in graduate nursing school, and a student from the 4th cohort is preparing an application for graduate school.
Notes
References:
Dapremont J. A. (2013). A review of minority recruitment and retention models implemented in undergraduate nursing programs. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 3(2), 112.
Duffus W. A., Trawick C., Moonesinghe R., Tola J., Truman B. I., Dean H. D. (2014). Training racial and ethnic minority students for careers in public health sciences. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 47(5, Suppl. 3), S368–S375 10.1016/j.amepre.2014.07.028 PMID: 25439259
Hudson, T., Steed, J., Parker, S., Johnson, R., & Norman, L. (2021). Creating collaborative relationships with historically black colleges and universities: An approach to diversifying the nursing workforce. Nurse Educator, Publish Ahead of Print https://doi.org/10.1097/NNE.0000000000001023
Johnson, R. L., Steed, J., Parker, S., & Schorn, M. N. (2020). A summer professional immersion in nursing program for underrepresented minority undergraduate students. Journal of Nursing Education, 59(11), 631-636. doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy.lib.duke.edu/10.3928/01484834-20201020-06
Snyder C. R., Frogner B. K., Skillman S. M. (2018). Facilitating racial and ethnic diversity in the health workforce. Journal of Allied Health, 47(1), 58–65 PMID: 29504021
Sigma Membership
Pi Sigma
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
N/A
Research Approach
N/A
Keywords:
Workforce, Mentoring and Coaching, Coaching
Recommended Citation
Lyons-Smith, Marquita P.; Johnson, Ragan; Carter, Brigit; Derouin, Anne; and VanRiel, Yolanda, "Partnering With HBCUs to Improve Advanced Practice Nursing Workforce Diversity" (2025). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 114.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2025/presentations_2025/114
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Partnering With HBCUs to Improve Advanced Practice Nursing Workforce Diversity
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Illustrate the value of strategic academic partnerships between Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to increase diversity in nurse practitioner (NP) academic programs.
Healthcare workforce diversity improves health outcomes for minoritized populations. Advanced practice nurses (APNs) are cornerstones of the primary care workforce. However, less than 10% of practicing NPs are Black. Barriers include lack of APN faculty diversity, student access to higher education, awareness, and cost. Pipeline programs such as summer immersion programs have effectively increased knowledge, increased interest, fostered mentorship, and prepared minoritized students for the graduate school application process. Faculty at a PWI developed a collaborative partnership with a local HBCU to support current BSN students from minoritized backgrounds interested in advanced practice nursing. HBCU students were recruited via flyers, a recorded message, and word of mouth from faculty for a 1-week summer intensive at the PWI. Since 2021, the program has welcomed 19 HBCU students, majority women (n=18). The average age of participants is 23.7, with 16% first-generation college students and first-generation graduate students. Summer Scholars receive an introduction to APN practice, collaborative and individualized professional and personal development, an introduction to health equity for providers, and clinical exposure alongside current APN students, current APNs, and previous program scholars who have enrolled in graduate school. The results of this program are highly positive. All summer scholars felt the program completely satisfied their expectations, and all program objectives met their expectations to an above-average extent.
Future program goals include expanding the reach to HBCU nursing students nationwide. The program has expanded collaboration to include post-intensive activities, mentorship, and ongoing support for student scholars. Other outcomes include mutually beneficial cooperation between PWI and HBCU faculty to develop cross-teaching opportunities, peer mentoring, scholarship, and other partnership initiatives. This is to increase the visibility of Black and other faculty of color for minoritized students interested in graduate nursing education. Two students from the first cohort have enrolled in graduate nursing school, and a student from the 4th cohort is preparing an application for graduate school.
Description
Participants will learn the value of strategically developing academic partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to increase diversity in NP academic programs and, subsequently, the APN workforce. A review of the outcomes of Leading to Equitable Access to Health Professions (LEAHP), a one-week summer immersion program, will prepare other institutions to create similar programs.