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Bringing the best to nursing

An Innovative Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston Creates Opportunity for Minority and Underrepresented Populations to Enter Nursing Careers

The University of Massachusetts Boston is an urban university with an urban mission - to reach out to neighborhood communities and provide superior education at moderate cost. That mission means bringing affordable education to people in all walks of life, but in particular to those who might not have access to a university education because of income, education, or class. At the University of Massachusetts College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CNHS), that mission has meant a commitment to recruiting and retaining a diverse population of nursing students. If we can do that, we can contribute to the economic and social development of the communities we serve and, just as importantly, help build a stronger, more representative nursing workforce that includes larger numbers of men and more professionals from underrepresented populations.

To achieve this goal, CNHS has instituted a workforce diversity initiative funded by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration called Bringing the Best to Nursing (BBN). Currently, there are 62 minority and underrepresented nursing scholars participating in BBN, and the program, which relies on the collaborative effort of multiple communities - including the university, neighborhoods and schools, and healthcare institutions - is teaching us what we need to know about recruiting and retaining minority students to create a more diverse nursing workforce.

Full Story: Looking for tomorrow's nurses [Boston Globe,MA]