Driving toward a culture shift: Case studies of social mission in nursing education.

BACKGROUND: Nursing schools need to provide students with the appropriate tools to develop competencies and resources to actualize moral courage to advance health equity and center social mission. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe six nursing programs that exemplify a variety of ways that social mission goals are pursued in different contexts. METHOD: Using a case study approach, we selected nursing schools that excelled in at least one of the following social mission domains: education program, community engagement, governance, diversity & inclusion, institutional culture & climate and research. We conducted video interviews with the administration, faculty and students. FINDINGS: Main themes were: (1) central university/college commitment; (2) allocation of school resources; (3) faculty buy-in; (4) community partnerships; and, (5) an institutional culture of inclusion. DISCUSSION: While each school approaches social mission differently, there are commonalities across cases including a number of necessary factors for schools to advance their social mission goals.

Educators Countering the Impact of Structural Racism on Health Equity.

Health equity endorses that all persons are respected equally, and society must exert intentional efforts to eradicate inequities. Race, frequently taught as an impartial risk factor for disease, is a facilitator of structural inequities stemming from racist policies. Nursing educators must help students understand the impact of structural racism on patient populations, communities, and society at large. This article illustrates the face of structural racism, highlights how structural racism impacts health care outcomes, and provides meaningful ways for educators to unmute racism and facilitate race-related discourse in the classroom to counter the impact of structural racism on health equity.

Resilience Will Not Erase Structural Racism.

Acknowledging underlying inequities is crucial.

Looking backwards to move forward: Using a social mission lens in nursing education.

The ideals of health equity continue to be constrained by the conditions in which people live, learn and work. But to what extents are nursing schools strengthening the preparedness of nurses to extend their reach and help individuals and communities achieve their highest level of health? A culture of health and health equity is built on a framework of social mission. The authors believe that social mission is not new to the nursing profession. However, a clear understanding of the historical evolution of social mission as it relates to nursing education could provide a solid foundation for understanding the extent to which nursing curricula aligns with a commitment to advancing healthcare outcomes. This manuscript is a commentary that outlines the foundational understanding of the history of social mission in nursing education through the present time and amplifies that educators should consider how adopting a social mission lens could help schools more effectively align their curricula, policies and practices with health equity. Social mission refers to the school's commitment to advance health equity in everything it does from admissions and faculty hiring policies, to curriculum development, the extent of community based experiential learning, and, ultimately measured in their graduates' outcomes (Mullan, 2017). It is the authors' view that the rich history, the magnitude of the sector, and the current transformational conversations occurring in the nursing profession, all call for a deeper analysis and engagement of nursing leaders in this topic.

Meaningful inclusion of diverse voices: The case for culturally responsive teaching in nursing education.

Communication and diversity are essential features of safe and effective health care and of a safe and effective nursing workforce. Fostering diversity and meaningful inclusion of diverse perspectives in nursing school classrooms, labs and clinical learning environments are important steps toward building a stronger nursing workforce and health care system. This paper presents an argument for the importance of replacing the single, dominant voice in nursing education with culturally responsive teaching and offers strategies nurse educators can use to encourage students to share alternative perspectives and engage in alternative methods of discourse and communication. This essay reflects a review of the theoretical background to culturally responsive teaching and discusses how this method connects to nursing education. By engaging in culturally responsive teaching, nurse educators will prepare a nursing workforce that is ready to add multiple diverse voices to the health care team and contribute to the redesign of a safer and more effective health care system.

Examining the Impact of Critical Multicultural Education Training on the Multicultural Attitudes, Awareness, and Practices of Nurse Educators.

Some nurse educators lack training in the educational methods that facilitate learning among underrepresented groups. Limited awareness of equitable pedagogical practices could threaten the academic achievement of underrepresented groups and hinder efforts to make the nursing profession more heterogeneous. Training in multicultural education could strengthen the capacity of educators to create culturally responsive learning environments. This quasi-experimental study examined the impact that training in critical multicultural education had on the multicultural attitudes, awareness, and practices of 37 nurse educators. A pre-posttest design without a control group found that the training was an effective way to strengthen the multicultural awareness and attitudes of nurse educators, although there was little impact on the multicultural practices. The nation's capacity to improve the quality of health care hinges upon educators who can create inclusive learning environments and graduate diverse nurses. The findings could inform policies seeking to promote diversity and inclusion in nursing education.

Does race still matter in nursing? The narratives of African-American nursing faculty members.

BACKGROUND: The rise in undergraduate enrollment of African-American students has not translated into more African-American faculty members, although they could mentor minority students and promote an ethos that encourages their academic success. Discrimination against African-American faculty members continues, which could lessen their presence. PURPOSE: This study explored the narratives of 23 African-American faculty members to determine if race still matters in nursing. METHODS: A narrative approach grounded in social constructionism and critical race theory was used to illustrate the journey of African-American faculty into and throughout academia and to reveal factors related to decisions to enter and remain in academia. DISCUSSION: Most of the participants stated that they faced racial discrimination that tested their resilience and reinforced their commitment to the academy. CONCLUSION: Intentional actions and open discourse could strengthen institutional commitments to racial diversity and facilitate the recruitment and retention of racially diverse nursing faculties.

How much diversity in nursing is enough?

If we're afraid to even talk about such questions, we're not there yet.

Mobile technology: lessons learned along the way.

Although mobile technology has the potential to promote patient safety by increasing accuracy and efficiency, faculty may find instituting a personal digital assistant (PDA) program overwhelming. In addition, there is a dearth of information on how students are using this technology. The authors discuss the implementation of a PDA program that required all nursing students entering their first clinical rotation to purchase a PDA loaded with nursing software and describe how the students used this technology. Lessons learned along the way are emphasized to help faculty develop, implement, and/or improve their school's PDA/software program.