African American and Latinx Adolescents' Perspectives of Nursing as a Career Choice

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.

Public image of the profession is associated with the choice of nursing career among Arab high school students: A cross-sectional study

AIMS

The aim of this study is to examine (a) public image of nursing and the intention to choose nursing as a future career and (b) the relationship between the public image, gender roles and the choice of the nursing career among Arab high school students.

BACKGROUND

School graduates from the Arab sector represent an important social group with the potential to provide quality candidates for the nursing profession in Israel.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 138 high school students from two Arab schools in Israel completed a structured questionnaire.

RESULTS

One third of the sample intended to choose nursing as a future career. Students from families with a higher level of paternal education and those exposed to the work of nurses perceived nursing as more positive. The profession's public image contributed to the explanation of 21% of the variance of the intention to choose a nursing career.

CONCLUSION

A positive public image of nursing contributes to decisions about choosing a nursing career in the future among Arab high school students.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

School graduates may be influenced by providing information and presenting the role of a nurse as significant, as well as by emphasizing the positive image of nursing to parents and influential people in the Arab community.