Volume 47, July–August 2023, Pages 15-24Author links open overlay panel, , , AbstractBackground

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.

Section snippetsBackground

A diverse nursing workforce is essential to meeting the healthcare needs of an increasingly diverse population. Diversifying the healthcare workforce can help improve health equity by positively affecting access to and quality of care for patient populations (Pittman et al., 2021). For example, some patients from ethnic and racial minority groups prefer to receive healthcare from a provider who shares the same ethnic and/or racial background (Dawkins, 2021); and nurses from ethnic and racial

Methods for program evaluation

General program outcomes were documented during the program. For the end of year program evaluation, a descriptive qualitative approach was used to explore the perceptions of Black men regarding their experiences participating in the H2H Program. A descriptive qualitative design is appropriate to use when the focus is on describing a phenomenon (Polit & Beck, 2021; Sandelowski, 2000). The aim of this evaluation was to develop a rich description of the experiences of the Black males who

General H2H program outcomes

All eight of the student mentees who participated in the H2H Program were retained in their nursing programs. Two H2H mentees were completing their last year of nursing school. Both mentees graduated from their respective programs, passed the NCLEX-RN on the first attempt, and are currently working as RNs. At the end of Year 1 (July 2021), all the remaining mentees were on track to completing their nursing program by spring 2023.

Mentors and mentees engaged in approximately 250 mentoring hours

Discussion

Based on the data from this program evaluation, those who responded to the questionnaire perceived that the H2H Program could be one approach to exposing Black male high school students to nursing careers and supporting Black male college students in completing nursing programs by providing support and mentoring. Early exposure to nursing can influence males' decision to pursue nursing as a career (Powers et al., 2018; Yi & Keogh, 2016). However, in a study of African American men's

Conclusion

There is a need for targeted efforts to increase representation of Black men in nursing. Black men contribute to racial, ethnic, and gender diversity within the nursing workforce and can provide unique insights to help address the complex problems that adversely affect Black male patient populations and underserved communities. The H2H Program is a targeted approach designed to increase awareness of nursing as a career choice among Black males and to facilitate their entry into the nursing

Funding

This work was supported by the Center to Champion Nursing in America, a joint initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Atlanta Black Nurses Association, Clayton County Fire and Emergency Services, Clayton State University School of Nursing, Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Georgia Nurses Association/Georgia Nurses Foundation, and the United Advanced Practice Nurses of Georgia.

Declarations of competing interest

None. The funders did not play a role in deciding the study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the article for publication.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Clayton County Public School System and Georgia Nursing Leadership Coalition who were community partners for the H2H Program. The authors would also like to thank Dr. Cynthia Brown, DNS, RN, CNE, NBC-HWC for peer review of the interview protocol and data and Dr. Patricia Clark, PhD, RN, FAAN for assistance with editing the manuscript.

View full text

© 2023 Published by Elsevier Inc.