A mentoring pyramid for African American nursing students.

Abstract: The purpose of this investigation was to ascertain the African American nursing students ' perception of a need for a mentoring program for this population. The percentage of ethnic minorities graduating from baccalaureate nursing programs has continued to decline since 1990 (National League of Nursing, 1995). The March 1996 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses estimated there were 2,559,000 registered nurses in the United States. Only 107, 500 of these nurses were African American. Data from the 1996 U.S. Census revealed African Americans to be the largest ethnic minority group in the country (14 percent). Based upon the number of racially and culturally diverse clients seeking healthcare, there is a gross underrepresentation of racially and culturally diverse nurses available to administer that care The attrition rate for African American nursing students is high. Some of the reasons for this failure to retain and graduate African American students from schools of nursing are associated with the lack of mentoring relationships with persons whom students can relate to, feel comfortable with, learn from, and emulate. This study examined the perceptions of African American nursing students enrolled at a predominantly European-American public university in the Southeast United States. The students identified certain categories of needs they felt could be met in a mentoring relationship with a nurse educator. Key Words: Mentoring of African American Nursing Students; African American Nursing Students' Perception of a Need for a Mentoring Program; Mentoring; Black Nursing Students The momentum of the 1960s and the 1970s to ensure the full representation of minority students on university campuses has all but disappeared in the 1990s. Statistics indicate that the enrollment of African-American students has not increased since 1975. Based on the prediction that within the next ten to fifteen years, one-third of the United States will be populated by what are currently termed minority citizens, these individuals need to be included proportionately in the higher education system (Green, 1989). Minority student representation in nursing education mimics that of higher education in general. The nursing profession is 90 percent European American. This is a gross underrepresentation of other racial/ethnic groups (AACN, 1997). Less than 8 percent of admissions to nursing schools are African-American students (National League for Nursing, 1994). Green (1989) states that the low numbers of minority students in schools of nursing will remain low because previous efforts aimed at retaining these students have not proven successful. Some of these earlier efforts included recruitment, counseling, support services, financial and academic assistance, and recruitment of minority faculty. Still with these efforts, many of the minority students never graduated. These attempts to recruit and retain African-American students have been largely unsuccessful for several reasons. This particular group of students is more likely to be poor and inadequately prepared for the rigorous nursing curriculum. Some may need remediation to catch up to their counterparts. Administrators have not instituted comprehensive policies and procedures aimed at institutional change reflecting educational plans that respect students' individuality (Baldwin, 1990; Leon, 1993). Failure of schools of nursing to increase the number of African-Americans graduating from nursing schools mandates a re-commitment to retention efforts. Teachers must institute alternative or even non-traditional strategies. Universities and schools of nursing need to create environments that are conducive to the success of these students while building a sense of community (Commission on Nursing, 1989). African-American students need to learn and share experiences through a feeling of connection with others; to help them cope with personal feelings of loneliness, self-doubt and isolation. …