A growing body of research has linked diversity in nursing to improved healthcare delivery, increased cultural competence, increased patient satisfaction, improved patient care quality, and cost savings (Stanford, 2020) .
Marquette University's College of Nursing is committed to building a diverse nursing workforce and is tackling this problem head-on through Project BEYOND-2 (Building Equitable Youth Opportunities for Nurse Diversity) and other initiatives such as the Nursing Workforce Diversity – Eldercare Enhancement (NWD-E2) program (HRSA grant D19HP39728).
In the NWD-E2 program, nursing students from underrepresented groups in the nursing profession were provided the opportunity to enhance their traditional BSN degree with 2-years of additional education about geriatrics and gerontology. Participants received:
- 1 hour/week of additional geriatric education for two academic years (2nd and 3rd years)
- Wrap-around support services such as financial aid (scholarships, stipends, travel award), special programming (book club, social events), academic advising, and peer mentoring
- 16-week clinical rotation delivering home care to elderly veterans living in the community