Sustaining success for Black nursing students.

Of the estimated 5.2 million nurses across the United States of America, only 6 % identify as Black or African American. Increasing the number of Black Registered Nurses (RNs) can benefit society by improving the well-documented healthcare disparities. Black students continue to report negative experiences in nursing school that contribute to difficulty in nursing education programs. Nursing programs struggle to adequately support Black students so that they are successful in their quest to become RNs. Often when students are unsuccessful, faculty focus attention on the student's failed strategies, as opposed to examining possible programmatic and faculty failures. The purposes of this article are to describe challenges Black students may face and to present practical strategies focused on the programmatic and faculty improvements that are needed to foster success. Strategies such as using root cause analyses, use of academic care coordinators, academic success teams, and intentional faculty development can be used to facilitate success for Black nursing students. Addressing programmatic and faculty issues may improve Black students' success in nursing programs.

The High School to Higher Education Pipeline Program: A focus on Black male representation in nursing.

BACKGROUND: Increasing the number of Black men in nursing can enhance racial, ethnic, and gender diversity within the nursing workforce. However, there is a lack of nursing pipeline programs that specifically focus on Black men. PURPOSE: The purposes of this article are to describe the High School to Higher Education (H2H) Pipeline Program as an approach to increasing representation of Black men in nursing and to describe H2H Program participants' perspectives of the program after the first year. METHODS: A descriptive qualitative approach was used to explore Black males' perceptions of the H2H Program. Twelve of the 17 program participants completed questionnaires. Data collected were analyzed to identify themes. FINDINGS: Four themes emerged during data analysis regarding the participants' perspectives of the H2H Program: 1) Coming to realize, 2) Managing stereotypes, stigma, and social norms, 3) Making connections, and 4) Expressing gratitude. CONCLUSION: Results indicated that the H2H Program provided participants with a support network that fostered a sense of belonging. The H2H Program was beneficial for program participants in their development and engagement in nursing.

Achieving Success in Prelicensure Registered Nursing Programs: An Explanatory Case Study of African American Men.

AIM: The aim of this research was to identify factors that facilitated successful completion of a prelicensure registered nursing program for African American men. BACKGROUND: Successful completion of prelicensure nursing programs by African American men can increase diversity in the nursing profession. Further investigation is needed to understand the factors that can lead to success in completing prelicensure programs. METHOD: An explanatory, multiple-case study design was used to explore the personal characteristics, perspectives, and life events of African American men who completed prelicensure nursing programs. RESULTS: The five factors that influenced success were establishing goals, securing financial resources, maintaining family as a support system, meeting academic expectations, and developing a sense of belonging. CONCLUSION: Recommendations for how nurse educators can implement strategies to promote success for this population of students are discussed.

A Strategy to Ensure Faculty Engagement When Assessing a Concept-Based Curriculum.

BACKGROUND: The faculty of an undergraduate nursing program decided to undertake a major curriculum overhaul, transitioning from a curriculum based on the biomedical model to a concept-based curriculum. However, shortly after the new curriculum was implemented, faculty identified many issues with how and when the concepts were being taught. METHOD: In response to the early implementation issues, a conceptual grid was developed to guide assessment of the new curriculum. RESULTS: The conceptual grid provided a framework for assessment of the new concept-based curriculum. By using this approach, the faculty was able to identify and correct curricular issues that impeded student learning. CONCLUSION: The conceptual grid has been extremely useful in the assessment of a newly implemented concept-based curriculum. [J Nurs Educ. 2016;55(8):467-470.].