Nursing Program Admission Barriers in the United States: Considerations for Increasing Black Student Enrollment.

BACKGROUND: The percentage of Black registered nurses (RN) is disproportionate to Black residents in the population, particularly in Southern states. PURPOSE: This study's purpose was to identify the potential admission barriers for Black students in RN education in the South versus Midwest, Northeast, and West. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used to compare admission criteria for 1597 accredited associate degree in nursing and bachelor of science in nursing programs by geographic region. RESULTS: Southern programs required a significantly higher count of academic metric criteria (multiple grade point average, standardized tests) and nonacademic criteria (proof of health insurance, background checks). Southern programs had a significantly lower count of holistic admissions review criteria (references, essays, volunteer work). CONCLUSION: Approximately 50% of programs used academic metrics exclusively, and most programs using some holistic criteria assigned greatest weight to academic metrics despite evidence that this disadvantages qualified, underrepresented students. Access to RN education must be improved. Recommendations are discussed for transition to holistic admissions review.

Holistic Admissions Review Integration in Nursing Programs.

BACKGROUND: To address health inequities, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Institute of Medicine, and Association of American Medical Colleges recommend holistic admissions review (HAR) to increase health professional diversity. METHOD: This cross-sectional study collected admissions criteria from 1,547 nursing programs. Criteria were categorized according to the experiences, attributes, and academic metrics (EAM) model, and programs were dichotomized into those with holistic admissions criteria versus none. RESULTS: Only 43% of nursing programs considered holistic admissions criteria. Regionally, rates varied from 35% in the South to 54% in the West. The rate of HAR integration exceeded 67% in only six states. CONCLUSION: Nursing programs have not widely integrated HAR despite evidence that academic metric use alone disadvantages qualified underrepresented students. HAR implementation can be facilitated by standardizing how HAR is operationalized and applying best evidence to rubric development that appropriately weighs admissions criteria based on the EAM model, and also training reviewers for unbiased candidate evaluation. [J Nurs Educ. 2022;61(7):361-366.].