Creating Collaborative Relationships With Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Abstract

Background: The lack of a diverse nursing workforce and inclusive nursing student pipeline initiatives can impact existing health disparities in the United States. Problem: Gaps in the representation of future Black nurses in schools of nursing provide missed opportunities for cultural congruence and awareness. Approach: Developing collaborative relationships with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) for recruitment is a mutually beneficial strategy. Undergraduate interns from 3 HBCUs attended a 6-week summer nursing immersion program at a graduate school of nursing on the campus of a predominately White institution. The aim was to provide awareness of the nursing profession and mentorship for further exploration into the profession. Conclusions: The program managed by Black nurse faculty provides a recruitment strategy that serves as a framework to support the financial, emotional, and social needs of prospective Black nursing students.

Centering Health Equity Through the Social Determinants of Health, Interprofessional Education, and Sustainable Partnerships With Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Envisioning Upstream and Downstream Impacts

“…HBCUs have a history of partnering with other nonminority serving institutions (MSIs) and developing community and/or faith-based initiatives to address disparities in health and health care (Campbell et al, 2020;Hudson et al, 2021;McWhirter et al, 2003;Patterson, 2021;Taylor et al, 2020;Treadwell et al, 2009). While HBCUs Source: 1 1920 census data (United States Census Bureau, 1922) and 2 2020 census data (Jones et al, 2021).…”

“…HBCUs have a history of partnering with other non-minority serving institutions (MSIs) and developing community and/or faith-based initiatives to address disparities in health and health care (Campbell et al, 2020; Hudson et al, 2021; McWhirter et al, 2003; Patterson, 2021; Taylor et al, 2020; Treadwell et al, 2009). While HBCUs have been historically and systemically marginalized, underfunded, and under-resourced (Hollis-Staten et al, 2012; Waite et al, 2023), they have successfully graduated outstanding, world-renowned leaders who are social justice advocates.…”

“…These kinds of projects could provide multi-institutional (HBCU and non-MSI) research involving SDOH. Not only can partnering institutions advance knowledge and practice, but faculty and students can benefit as well (Hudson et al, 2021). Non-MSI institutions can learn about SDOH curricular innovations and how HBCU faculties have been empowered through leadership development and through collaborative and innovative pedagogical skills (Taylor et al, 2020).…”

Increasing Diversity in the Advanced Practice Nursing Workforce Through Partnerships With Historically Black Colleges

“…A study by Carthon and colleagues22 found that Black students were more likely to enroll in nursing programs that offer financial support, mentoring, community partnerships, diversity workshops, and clinical experiences as well as academic and psychosocial services. Pathway programs offer a potential method of diversifying advanced practice registered nursing (APRN) programs20 and have shown some related success with undergraduate nursing programs 16,21,23-25. Pathway programs aimed to increase diversity in prelicensure nursing programs can begin as early as primary school and vary in length.…”

“…These collaborations have dual benefits for both faculty and students including the potential to increase Black faculty representation at the PWI, increase scholarship opportunities for HBCU faculty, and offer Black students at the PWI a culturally relevant mentor. As HBCUs often focus on service to underserved communities, faculty from PWIs can benefit from the ensuing thought diversity to improve curricula and health equity research 16,29…”