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2 Minority Nurse | FALL 2014

Table of Contents

Cover Story

24 What Recruiters Want: How a BSN Can Help You Land a Job

By Julia Quinn-Szcesuil

Find out what recruiters across the country say it takes for a new

BSN grad to get noticed

Features

8 Affirmative Action and College Admissions

By Terah Shelton Harris

Experts weigh in on the latest court cases and what they mean for

future college students

14 Steps to Choosing a Nursing Specialization

By Jebra Turner

Not sure which specialty is for you? Follow these steps and

heed the advice of three nurses who share their journeys to

specialization

20 The Impact of Racist Patients

By Robin Farmer

Learn how nurses of color handle racist patient encounters and

what you should do if you find yourself in a similar situation

30 Tackling Student Loan Debt

By Denene Brox

Discover how to be financially savvy and avoid mountains of debt

while pursuing an expensive degree

In Every Issue3 Editor’s Notebook

4 Vital Signs

7 Making Rounds

52 Highlights from the Blog

56 Index of Advertisers

Academic Forum37 The Life of a Humanitarian Relief Nurse

By Archana Pyati

Step into the shoes of a humanitarian relief nurse and

discover your passion for helping the most vulnerable

among us

Second Opinion41 Keeping an Open Mind: My Brief Career as a

Certified Home Health Agency Registered Nurse

By Brandon Archer, RN, BSN

A recent grad shares an important life lesson learned

when the job market is tough

43 Nursing and the Table of Brotherhood and Sisterhood

By Latoya Lewis, RN, MSN

Could enriching mentorship programs be the key to

increasing diversity?

Degrees of Success45 An Effective Teaching Method:

Double Testing

By Annie M. Clavon, ARNP, PhD, MS, CCRC

A nursing instructor makes the case for double testing

to enhance adult student and teacher interactions

www.minoritynurse.com Minority Nurse Magazine @MinorityNurse 3

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Diversity in Nurse Anesthesia Mentorship Program

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National Black Nurses Association

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Editor’s Notebook:Keeping an Open Mind

We’ve all heard the expression, but what does it mean to you? If you’re a new graduate, it could mean exploring all available career options—and not just the most popular specialty. Ambition in health care is important, but flexibility and adaptability are arguably even more so. When faced

with a tough job market, the successful nurses will be the ones willing to follow the ebb and flow of careers in high demand. That could mean stepping outside a hospital to gain experience, as many experts suggest in our cover story. We asked recruiters across the US what they’re looking for in BSN grads to give you insider tips on land-ing that first job. Read more to find out how you can stand out in an increasingly competitive job market.

Having a hard time choosing a specialty? While it’s important to keep your options open, there are some steps you can take to help guide your decision. Jebra Turner offers some sound advice on exploring which path may be right for you. Whichever specialty appeals to you, don’t worry about being pigeonholed; the days of a nurse spending her entire career bedside are long over.

Whether it means exploring different specialties or having an open dialogue with colleagues about controversial issues such as racism or gender identity, the importance of keeping your mind open can’t be overstated. Racism in particular is still prevalent in this country, unfortunately, and it’s often the elephant in the room. Even nurses—who play a crucial role in the life or death of a patient—have been subjected to another’s intolerance. Robin Farmer explores the impact of racist patient encounters and offers young nurses guidance on how to handle racism in the workplace.

Affirmative action is yet another topic that’s still hotly debated. As support wanes, many believe that this could mean the end of affirmative action as we know it. But what impact will it have on minority enrollment in universities? States that have already banned affirmative action are exploring alternative methods to help increase diversity. Is it enough? Terah Shelton Harris reviews the latest trends and asks experts to weigh in on what these court cases could mean for the future.

As nursing school becomes more expensive and advanced degrees become the norm, it can be increasingly difficult to obtain a degree without falling into insurmount-able debt. The good news: you don’t have to fall into the student loan trap. There are alternatives available for those who take the time to do their research and weigh the pros and cons of a particular school and/or degree. Denene Brox teaches you how to be financially savvy and obtain that degree without added interest.

Keep your mind (and your options) open and investing in your future doesn’t have to come with a hefty price tag.

— Megan Larkin

Vital Signs


New Data Brief Reveals Characteristics of Uninsured Minority Men

A data brief released by the Offi ce of Minority Health at the US Department of Health and Human Services during Men’s Health Month last June examined the characteristics of uninsured adult males by race and ethnicity, using the most recent data from the 2012 American Community Survey (ACS). Findings from the survey, which include information on social and economic factors such as poverty and education level, that infl uence insurance coverage, should be considered in developing strategies to increase insurance coverage and access to care for minority adult males.

The survey findings provide additional in-formation on the pat-terns of uninsurance

among non-elderly males pri-or to the establishment of the Health Insurance Marketplace and the expansion of Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Highlights of the survey fi ndings include:• Among uninsured adult

males, ages 19-34, Latino and African American males exhibited the highest esti-mates of uninsurance.

• More than 70% of African American and white unin-sured adult males and nearly 60% of Asian and Latino un-insured adult males have a high school diploma.

• A high proportion of un-insured adult males across all racial and ethnic groups reported family incomes at or below 100% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).

• A high proportion of un-insured Latino adult males (81%) report having a full-time worker in the household.

• Uninsured African American males reported the highest proportion (60%) of family income at or below 100% of the FPL.

• A high percentage of un-insured adult Asian (28%) and Latino (24%) males also reside in a limited English profi cient household.

• A lower percentage of unin-sured Latino (6%) and Asian (5%) males experience dis-ability (versus 12% of white and 11% of African Ameri-can uninsured males). While data from the 2012

ACS survey show dispari-ties among uninsured males, through the ACA, progress has been made in increasing ac-cess to affordable health care coverage: • Over the course of the fi rst

Health Insurance Market-place enrollment period, more than 8 million people were enrolled as part of the ACA.

• New data from the Kaiser Family Foundation show that as many as six in 10 people who purchased

health insurance through the Marketplace were previ-ously uninsured.

• Accordingly to recent Gal-lup data, the most dramat-ic drops in the insured rate were among African Ameri-cans, Latinos, and low-in-come Americans.

This type of data and knowl-edge about uninsured minor-ity males can help inform targeted interventions and outreach efforts to improve enrollment opportunities for

minority men in health insur-ance coverage.

Over the past several de-cades, our nation has made vast improvements in scien-tifi c knowledge, public health, and health care. The health status of racial and ethnic mi-nority men still lags behind the general population. In-creasing insurance coverage of minority males is critical to their ability to access health care systems, reduce prevent-able illnesses, and improve their health outcomes.

Vital Signs


NSAIDs May Lower Breast Cancer Recurrence Rate in Overweight and Obese Women

Recurrence of hormone-related breast cancer was cut by half in overweight and obese women who regularly used aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), according to data published in Cancer Research.

“Our studies sug-gest that limit-ing inflamma-tory signaling

may be an effective, less toxic approach to altering the can-cer-promoting effects of obe-sity and improving patient re-sponse to hormone therapy,” says Linda A. deGraffenried, PhD, associate professor of nu-tritional sciences at The Uni-versity of Texas at Austin.

The study found that women whose body mass index (BMI) was greater than 30 and had estrogen receptor alpha (ERα)-positive breast cancer had a 52% lower rate of recurrence and a 28-month delay in time

to recurrence if they were tak-ing aspirin or other NSAIDs.

“These results suggest that NSAIDs may improve response to hormone therapy, thereby allowing more women to re-main on hormone therapy rather than needing to change to chemotherapy and deal with the associated side effects and complications,” says deGraffen-ried. “However, these results are preliminary and patients should never undertake any treatment without consulting with their physician.”

Using blood from obese pa-tients, deGraffenried and col-leagues conducted experiments in the laboratory to recreate a

tumor environment contain-ing cancer cells, fat cells, and the immune cells that promote inflammation. They found that the factors associated with obe-sity initiate a network of signal-ing within the tumor environ-ment to promote growth and resistance to therapy.

“These studies show that the greatest benefit from aspirin [and other NSAIDs] will be in those with a disease driven by inflammation, and not just obe-sity,” DeGraffenried explains.

Researchers used data from 440 women diagnosed with invasive, ERα-positive breast cancer and treated at The Uni-versity of Texas Health Science

Center and the START Center for Cancer Care clinic, both in San Antonio, Texas, between 1987 and 2011.

Of the women studied, 58.5% were obese and 25.8% were overweight. About 81% took aspirin, and the rest took another NSAID. About 42% and 25% took statins and omega-3 fatty acid, respectively.

There was an indication of protection from aspirin and other NSAIDs even after con-trolling for statins and omega-3 fatty acid use, which also have anti-inflammatory effects.

This study was funded by the US Department of Defense, the Breast Cancer Research Program of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, and the National Cancer Institute. To learn more, visit http://can-cerres.aacrjournals.org.

Vital Signs


Study Finds Youth Who Have Used E-Cigarettes are Almost Twice as Likely to Intend to Smoke Conventional Cigarettes

More than a quarter of a million youth who had never smoked a cigarette used electronic cigarettes in 2013, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research. This number reflects a threefold increase, from about 79,000 in 2011, to more than 263,000 in 2013.

The data, which comes from the 2011, 2012, and 2013 National Youth Tobacco surveys

of middle and high school students, show that youth who had never smoked con-ventional cigarettes but who used e-cigarettes were almost twice as likely to intend to smoke conventional cigarettes as those who had never used e-cigarettes. Among non-smoking youth who had ever used e-cigarettes, 43.9% said they intended to smoke con-ventional cigarettes within the next year, compared with

21.5% of those who had never used e-cigarettes.

“We are very concerned about nicotine use among our youth, regardless of whether it comes from conventional cigarettes, e-cigarettes, or other tobacco products. Not only is nicotine highly addic-tive, it can harm adolescent brain development,” says Tim McAfee, MD, MPH, director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health.

There is evidence that nico-tine’s adverse effects on ado-lescent brain development could result in lasting deficits

in cognitive function. Nico-tine is highly addictive. About three out of every four teen smokers become adult smok-ers, even if they intend to quit in a few years.

“The increasing number of young people who use e-ciga-rettes should be a concern for parents and the public health community, especially since youth e-cigarette users were nearly twice as likely to have intentions to smoke conven-tional cigarettes compared with youth who had never tried e-cigarettes,” says Re-becca Bunnell, ScD, MEd, the associate director for science in CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health and the lead author of the study.

The analysis also looked at the association between tobacco advertisements and smoking intentions among middle and high school stu-

dents. Students were asked about whether they had seen tobacco ads on the Internet, in magazines and newspapers, in retail stores, and in television programs and movies. Consis-tent with previous studies, this study found that youth who reported exposure to tobacco ads had higher rates of inten-tion to smoke than those who weren’t exposed to such ads.

The researchers also found the greater the number of advertising sources to which young people were exposed, the greater their rate of intention to smoke cigarettes. Thirteen percent of students who said they had no exposures to such ads had intentions to smoke, compared to 20.4% among those who reported exposures from one to two ad sources and 25.6% among those who re-ported exposures from three to four of the sources.

More than 50 years since the landmark Surgeon General’s Report linking cigarette smok-ing to lung cancer, smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States. Smok-ing kills nearly half a million Americans every year. More than 16 million Americans live with a smoking-related disease. Each day, more than 3,200 American youth smoke their first cigarette. The Sur-geon General has concluded that unless the smoking rate is rapidly reduced, 5.6 million American children alive to-day—about one in every 13—will die prematurely from a smoking-related disease.


Making Rounds

October15-17The American Assembly for Men in Nursing 39th Annual ConferenceSt. Louis Union Station HotelSt. Louis, MissouriInfo: 215-243-5813E-mail: [email protected]: http://aamn.org/conference.shtml

16-18American Academy of NursingAnnual Policy ConferenceGrand Hyatt WashingtonWashington, District Of ColumbiaInfo: 202-777-1170E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.aannet.org/2014

22-25Transcultural Nursing Society40th Annual Conference Charleston Marriott DowntownCharleston, South CarolinaInfo: 888-432-5470E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.tcns.org

22-25American Psychiatric Nurses Association28th Annual Conference JW Marriott IndianapolisIndianapolis, IndianaInfo: 855-863-2762Website: www.apna.org

24-27American Association of Nurse Life Care Planners 2014 Annual Conference Westin Buckhead Atlanta, GeorgiaInfo: 801-274-1184E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.aanlcp.org

29-November 1Association of Rehabilitation Nurses40th Annual Conference The Disneyland HotelAnaheim, CaliforniaInfo: 800-229-7530E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.rehabnurse.org

31-November 3 Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates45th Annual ConferenceDisney’s Contemporary ResortLake Buena Vista, FloridaInfo: 888-827-7862E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.suna.org/event/2014-annual-conference

November7-8Aging and Society2014 Interdisciplinary ConferenceManchester Conference CentreManchester, United Kingdom Info: 217-328-0405E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://agingandsociety.com/the-conference

7-9International Society of Nurses in Genetics2014 Annual World CongressDoubletree by Hilton Paradise ValleyScottsdale, ArizonaInfo: 412-344-1414E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.isong.org

14-16National Organization for Associate Degree Nursing 2014 Annual ConferenceHyatt Regency St. Louis at the ArchSt. Louis, MissouriInfo: 877-966-6236E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.noadn.org

15-19American Public Health Association142nd Annual Meeting and ExpositionNew Orleans Convention CenterNew Orleans, LouisianaInfo: 202-777-2742E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.apha.org/meetings/annual

February25-28Southern Nursing Research Society29th Annual Conference: Conducting Research in Difficult Times: Come Revitalize your Research SpiritSaddlebrook ResortTampa, FloridaInfo: 303-327-7548E-mail: [email protected]: www.snrs.org

8 Minority Nurse | FALL 20148 Minority Nurse | FALL 2014

Affi rmative action has been a hot topic for decades. Since its tumultuous inception almost 50 years ago, affi rmative action has been applauded, argued, and scoffed at as an answer to racial inequality.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy was among the fi rst to use the term “affi rmative action” as a

method to prevent further ra-cial discrimination despite civil rights laws and, essentially, to temporarily level the playing fi eld. Executive Order 10925

required that government contractors “take affi rmative action to ensure that appli-cants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.”

But it was President Lyndon

B. Johnson who developed and enforced it for the fi rst time in 1965 with the passage of Executive Order 11246.

“This is the next and more profound stage of the battle for civil rights,” Johnson said to a Howard University graduating class in 1965. “We seek…not

just equality as a right and a theory, but equality as a fact and as a result.”

Since then, the debate over affi rmative action has grown more and more contentious and problematic as the public—with divided opinions—have weighed in on a complex issue.

BY TERAH SHELTON HARRIS

Affi rmative Action and College Admissions


Robert A. Schaeffer, the public education director of FairTest, the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, believes that many issues relating to race are highly controversial because critics have been able to defi ne policies as “prefer-ences” rather than “balancing” the playing fi eld.

“Many Americans are con-vinced that affi rmative action creates biases in favor of cer-tain groups,” says Schaeffer. “Particularly in economic tough times, it is not diffi cult to fan resentment against any plan that seems to advantage [some] while disadvantaging others.”

Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affi rmative Action

In recent months, the battle over affi rmative action once again gained momentum in light of the latest Supreme Court rulings. In April, the Supreme Court upheld a con-stitutional amendment Michi-gan voters approved in 2006, banning preferential treatment based on race, gender, ethnic-ity, or national origin in ad-missions to the state’s public universities.

By a vote of 6 to 2, the court concluded that it was not up to the judges to overturn the 2006 decision by Michigan vot-ers to bar consideration of race when deciding who gets into the state’s universities and made it clear that states are free to pro-hibit the use of racial consider-ations in university admissions.

“This case is not about how the debate about racial pref-erences should be resolved. It is about who may resolve it,”

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in an opinion joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Jus-tice Samuel Alito. “There is no authority in the Constitution of the United States or in this court’s precedents for the ju-diciary to set aside Michigan laws that commit this policy determination to the voters.”

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, on the other hand, blasted the ma-jority, who she said attempts to “sit back and wish away” evidence that racial inequal-ity exists.

“The stark reality is that race still matters,” Sotomayor wrote in her 58-page dissenting opin-ion joined only by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “The way to stop discrimination on the ba-sis of race is to speak openly and candidly on the subject

of race, and to apply the Con-stitution with eyes open to the unfortunate effects of centuries of racial discrimination.”

Moving ForwardIt is unclear how the deci-

sion might move other states. Eight states, including Nebras-ka, Arizona, and Washington,

“The stark reality is that race still matters,” Soto-mayor wrote in her 58-page dissenting opinion joined only by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to speak openly and candidly on the subject of race, and to apply the Constitution with eyes open to the unfor-tunate effects of centuries of racial discrimination.”

Affi rmative Action and College Admissions


now have bans on affi rmative action. The ruling could en-courage other states to join the handful that already have such prohibitions, such as California and Florida.

But what’s worrisome to pro-ponents of affi rmative action is the precedent that may have been set with the court’s ruling, potentially, further energizing opponents of racial preferenc-es, who have already outlined plans to put Michigan-style constitutional amendments on the ballot in Utah, Ohio, and Missouri.

A survey conducted by ABC News and The Washington Post last year found that 79% of whites and 71% of non-whites oppose the consideration of race and ethnic preferences in college admissions, suggesting that any affi rmative action bal-lot measures are likely to be voted down.

Moving forward, Roger Clegg, president and general counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity believes that the court’s decision means that col-leges in states that have banned racial preferences must follow those laws and other states without bans should reexam-ine with current plans.

“It also means that colleges in other states must take into account the fact that their con-tinued use of racial preferenc-es, which is unpopular, should consider getting rid of that pol-icy since it may be banned in their states, too,” Clegg adds.

Quite the contrary, says Mi-chael Olivas, director of the Institute for Higher Educa-tion Law and Governance at the University of Houston Law Center. “It hurt the choices that Michigan colleges wanted to make, and this violated their academic freedom.”

But it need not be a regres-sive process, Olivas continues. In Maryland, voters approved resident tuition for the undocu-mented in a ballot measure, and Colorado voters turned down a Michigan-type measure.

“They are neither good nor bad in and of themselves, ex-cept we should not make such

important decisions for colleges by this means,” Olivas adds.

The groups that challenged the Michigan affi rmative action ban pointed out the basic un-fairness of giving preferences in admission to some groups while banning similar treatment of African Americans, Latinos, Na-tive Americans, and women.

“Michigan higher educa-tion leaders and most major civil rights groups reinforced our arguments,” says Schaef-fer, who provided expert assis-tance to the groups challeng-ing Michigan’s ban. “However, the judicial system held that voters could impose whatever distinctions they determined to be reasonable.”

Impact on Minority EnrollmentWhat is not clear is the rul-

ing’s impact on minority enroll-ment. While the US Supreme Court affi rmed Michigan’s con-stitutional amendment ban-ning race-conscious admissions, states that forbid affi rmative action in higher education, like Florida and California, as well as Michigan, have seen a signifi -

cant drop in the enrollment of black and Hispanic students.

In April 2014, The New York Times published an article ex-amining how minorities have fared in states with affi rmative action bans, including Califor-nia, Florida, and Michigan. At UC Berkeley and UCLA in Cali-fornia, for example, the graphs

showed that 49% of the state’s college-aged residents are His-panic, though only 11% and 17% of freshmen are Hispanic at those two schools, respec-tively.

In Florida, 27% of the state’s college-aged residents are His-panic at Florida State and the University of Florida, yet both universities showed that only 18% of their freshmen was Hispanic.

While the decision didn’t ad-dress the constitutionality of race-conscious admission poli-cies, Justice Sotomayor cited student-demographic data as proof that the ban, which went into effect in December 2006, has adversely affected minority enrollment and diversity at the University of Michigan (UM) in Ann Arbor.

“A white graduate of a pub-lic Michigan university who wishes to pass his historical privilege on to his children may freely lobby the board of that university in favor of an expanded legacy admissions policy,” she wrote. “Whereas a black Michigander who was

A survey conducted by ABC News and The Wash-ington Post last year found that 79% of whites and 71% of non-whites oppose the consideration of race and ethnic preferences in college admissions, sug-gesting that any affi rmative action ballot measures are likely to be voted down.


denied the opportunity to at-tend that very university can-not lobby the board in favor of a policy that might give his children a chance that he never had and that they might never have absent that policy.”

According to the policy brief, “Restructuring Higher Educa-tion Opportunity?: African American Degree Attainment after Michigan’s Ban on Affi r-mative Action,” which Justice Sotomayor cited in her dissent-ing opinion, the proportion of African Americans who ob-tained a bachelor’s degree at UM dropped by about one-third after the ban on race-conscious admissions went into effect.

Additionally, The New York Times article revealed that the enrollment of black freshmen

at UM between 2006 and 2011 dropped from 7% to 5%, de-spite the number of black col-lege-aged persons in Michigan increasing from 16% to 19%.

While Justice Sotomayor argued that the ban on race-conscious admissions might have had a negative effect on the number of minority stu-dents who enrolled, it has not necessarily stopped colleges from looking at alternative procedures to maintain and promote diversity.

A 2012 study by The Cen-tury Foundation, a nonpartisan group, found that at seven of 10 major schools where racial preferences could not be used, race-neutral alternatives helped maintain or even raise minor-ity representation.

For example, Texas’s Top Ten Percent Rule—which guarantees admission to the University of Texas (or any state-funded university) to any high school senior graduating in the top 10% of his or her class—helps ensure diverse college student bodies. A com-bination of measures, includ-ing affi rmative action based on class, increasing fi nancial grants, and de-emphasizing standardized tests are just a few promising race-neutral op-tions that have allowed mi-nority enrollment to return to pre-ban levels.

“From FairTest’s perspectives, all these initiatives are worthy of consideration,” says Schaef-fer. “But none fully replace af-fi rmative action as a tool for

denied the opportunity to at-tend that very university can-not lobby the board in favor of a policy that might give his children a chance that he never had and that they might never have absent that policy.”

According to the policy brief, “Restructuring Higher Educa-tion Opportunity?: African American Degree Attainment after Michigan’s Ban on Affi r-mative Action,” which Justice Sotomayor cited in her dissent-ing opinion, the proportion of African Americans who ob-tained a bachelor’s degree at UM dropped by about one-third after the ban on race-conscious admissions went into effect.

Additionally, The New York Times article revealed that the enrollment of black freshmen


addressing past and present discrimination.”

Fisher vs. University of Texas at Austin

Last June, the justices had a chance to make another big statement on affirmative ac-tion with its decision in Fisher vs. University of Texas at Aus-tin (UT Austin). The case was filed by Abigail Fisher, a young woman from Texas who ap-plied to the university but was rejected. Fisher, who is white, then filed a lawsuit, arguing that she had been a victim of racial discrimination because minority students with less im-pressive credentials than hers had been admitted.

The Supreme Court did not immediately decide the fate of Fisher. Instead, the justices voted 7-1 to return the case to the lower courts to deter-mine whether the use of race is “necessary” and have “the ultimate burden of demon-strating, before turning to ra-cial classifications, that avail-able, workable race-neutral alternatives do not suffice.”

“Strict scrutiny must not be strict in theory but feeble in fact,” Justice Kennedy wrote. “The reviewing court must ul-timately be satisfied that no workable race-neutral alterna-tives would produce the edu-cational benefits of diversity.”

Only Justice Ginsburg dis-sented in the decision to send the case back.

“I would not return this case for a second look,” Ginsburg wrote in her dissent. “The Uni-versity reached the reasonable, good-faith judgment that sup-posedly race-neutral initiatives were insufficient to achieve, in appropriate measure, the edu-cational benefits of student-body diversity.”

The ruling upheld Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bol-linger, two cases fundamental in defining universities’ rights to consider race as an admis-sions factor. Though many ar-gue that the court’s decision preserves the principle that af-firmative action is permissible in some circumstances. That, according to Olivas, depends upon the narrow tailoring that the remand requires.

“UT Austin is allowed to

use race (by Grutter), and the top ten percent plan—which I helped write—is race-neutral, so Fisher was not harmed. She was simply not admissible,” Olivas argues. “The plan allows in over 50% whites, in a state where whites are only 30% of the [high

school] population. It does not harm them, nor does the mod-est affirmative action policy.”

It can be said both decisions illustrate the court’s skepti-cism about race-conscious government programs. The Schuette v. Coalition to De-fend Affirmative Action rul-ing alone took five separate opinions totaling 102 pages written over six months—a sign of how divided the court remains on the issue and the

role the judiciary should play in protecting racial and ethnic minorities.

To most, the recent Supreme Court’s decision upholding Michigan’s affirmative action ban was far from a shock, but many believe the ruling could

symbolize a steady march to the end of the use of race in higher education.

But, for now, the most re-cent Supreme Court decision only impacts public colleges and universities in the state of Michigan. The voter-approved Constitutional amendment clearly bars them from consid-ering race, gender, ethnicity, or national origin in admis-sions and related decisions.

“For higher education insti-tutions in other jurisdictions that are not operating under similar bans [some states, such as California, have their own prohibitions], affirmative action policies that comply with the court’s Hopwood [v. Texas] and Grutter decisions remain legal-ly permissible,” says Schaeffer. “However, many who closely observe the Court believe that further restrictions on affirma-tive action are likely as the re-sult of Fisher and other cases, currently moving through the judicial system.”

Terah Shelton Harris is a freelance

writer based in Alabama.

The Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Ac-tion ruling alone took five separate opinions totaling 102 pages written over six months—a sign of how divided the court remains on the issue and the role the judiciary should play in protecting racial and ethnic minorities.


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Steps to Choosing a Nursing Specialization

BY JEBRA TURNER

www.minoritynurse.com Minority Nurse Magazine @MinorityNurse 15 www.minoritynurse.com Minority Nurse Magazine @MinorityNurse 15

Many nurses, once comfortable with the day-to-day practice of nursing, decide that the next natural step is to go the specialization route. The thinking is that nurses who select a specialty will enjoy a higher salary, greater employment demand, and career-long job security than those who don’t. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that registered nurses earn a mean wage of $68,910 annually, while nurse midwives earn $92,230; nurse practitioners earn $95,070; and nurse anesthetists earn $157,690. Not all specialties guarantee increased earnings—a parish nurse, say, is typically unpaid—but the niches that demand additional training, certifi cation, and experience that’s in short supply almost always do.

However, not everyone agrees that specializa-tion is the best ap-proach to navigating a

nursing career. “Some nurses start out interested in pediatrics, ER, or labor and delivery, but most don’t,” says Donna Car-dillo, RN, MA, a nursing career coach (www.donnacardillo.com). “Many nurses feel pressured to choose a specialty and feel defi -cient in some way if they don’t. That’s an old, outdated model. Most of us used to work in one specialty our whole career. It’s not like that anymore. We’re going to work in many different specialties and work settings. It’s common to weave in and out of specialties all the time.”

Cardillo believes the health care landscape has changed and so has the job market. Jobs are moving out of hospitals to alternate inpatient settings—long-term care, inpatient re-hab, subacute care, and long-term subacute care.

“New nurses have to think more about the opportunity itself—the support they will get and the opportunity to grow personally and profes-

sionally, rather than ‘choosing a specialty,’” says Cardillo. “But they also have to think about opportunities outside of the hospital. For example, if in-terested in pediatrics, consider pedi long-term care, pedi home care, [or] pedi rehab.”

Regardless of whether you pursue a specialty or a good op-portunity, as Cardillo advises, it turns out that the steps are very similar. It means thought-ful consideration, energetic career exploration, and possi-bly pursuing more education, certifi cation, and on-the-job training. Here are three simple steps to specialization, plus the career stories of three nurses in some of today’s most popular specialties.

Look InsideOne of the best online re-

sources for nurses considering a specialty is at www.discovernurs-ing.com, which is sponsored by Johnson & Johnson. They of-

fer a comprehensive Find Your Specialty quiz that starts with your education and skills (cur-rent or projected), then goes on to your favorite work roles and

preferred work environment. Here are some representa-tive questions and possible answers, slightly modified for brevity:

Q What are you good at?

A Tech savvy; good communicator; strong

leader; compassionate; calm

Q When it comes to your patients, the best way

you can help them is:

A Face-to-face; managing, training,

or teaching nurses; doing research, writing, or advocating

Q When mingling with colleagues, how do

you join the conversation?

A I lead it; I usually listen at fi rst; I listen

Q At work the perfect pace for you is:

A Slower; steady; faster

Q Your ideal day at work is:

A Pretty much the same; slightly switched

up; completely different

At the end of the test, you’ll get a top recommendation for a specialty, plus two alternatives. Each one is described in detail and includes a list of advanced training, educational degrees, or certifi cations required to prac-tice. Finally, there’s a profi le of a successful nurse in that specialty to give you a sense of what’s required to fi nd satisfac-tion on that career path.

Look OutsideAfter self-exploration, it’s

time to do some workplace exploration. Nurses get a great deal of fi rst-hand knowledge of various categories of nursing as they do their rotations dur-ing nursing school. If you pay careful attention to your “gut level” reactions—to medical-surgical, pediatrics, obstetrics, or critical care—you will dis-cover which specialties appeal to you at a deeper level. You may want to explore additional specialties through internships, externships, temporary assign-ments, or PRN work outside your regular work duties.

If an actual, in-the-fi eld trial is not an option, consider go-ing online to learn about other categories. At www.discovernurs-ing.com, there is a database of 104 nursing specialties that you can access in a variety of ways. The specialties cover the gamut, so there’s something for everyone: 34 are outside hos-pital settings, 68 are research connected, 37 are managerial, and 92 are patient-facing.

One of the best parts of this database is that you can fi lter it by health care setting, degrees/certifi cations required, and job characteristics, so you don’t have to wade through all 104 specialties. The site will “cu-rate” the ones that match your specifi c requirements.

“New nurses have to think more about the op-portunity itself—the support they will get and the opportunity to grow personally and professionally, rather than ‘choosing a specialty,’” says Cardillo.


One of the key factors that nurses consider when choos-ing a specialty is employment demand. Many associations survey their members about employment and publish re-

sults. Say that you’d like to be an OR nurse and know that the Association of periOpera-tive Registered Nurses (AORN – online at www.aorn.org) re-ports that the average age of their members skews high, plus a quarter of OR nurses plan to retire or work part-time in the near future. Those demo-graphic factors may increase job demand—or not. You have to dig a bit deeper to find out.

Now that you’ve chosen a few specialties to explore, it’s time to get out there and do some personal sleuthing. You can attend the professional association meetings near you, go to area conferences, or connect with RNs online

at nursing specialty forums and at networking and social media sites.

So, when pursuing insights about being an OR nurse, for example, ask nurse lead-

ers what prospective nurses should know about that spe-cialty. Here’s what Deb Cook-sey, RN, MBA, MS, CNOR, vice president of nursing at AORN notes: “First, they need to un-derstand that their experi-ence with the patient is very different; it’s very short and concise—probably the big-gest difference they would experience. Also, working as part of a team is often a big change; many nurses are used to working autonomously. Another area where there is a significant difference is in how work is done; in Periop, it’s often multitasking but in a consecutive way. That can take getting used to.”

Next up, arrange one-to-one informational interviews with nurses who are success-fully working in that specialty to find out more about their individual career path and what they’d suggest to a new-comer. Cardillo recommends asking experienced nurses these questions:

• How did you get started in this specialty?

• What do you like most and least about your specialty?

• What are the most important attributes of a nurse in this specialty?

• What trends do you see in this specialty?

“You’ll get your best infor-mation from those in the field, but take it with a grain of salt—that’s another reason why you should speak to four or five people,” Cardillo adds, so that nobody’s opinions weigh too heavily on your decision to pur-sue a specialty. Make a point to ask each person you interview for the names of one or two other nurses, and if they’re will-ing to make an introduction or let you say they referred you.

Assess OpportunitiesTake a look at your overall

career goals and areas of inter-est, the type of lifestyle you aspire to, your personality and work style, and the time and other resources required to pur-sue an avenue.

So, for instance, if you think you’d enjoy independent case management but you don’t have funds available to get a business off the ground (and wait for it to grow to support you), maybe that isn’t a good initial specialty.

Then, of course you’ll want to see what offers you get as a way of determining if your job target is actually viable. “Whether a new or experi-enced nurse, you don’t want to stay unemployed for any length of time,” says Cardillo. “You can continue to pursue your dream job while you’re working. Say you’re interest-ed in pediatrics, but can’t get hired in a hospital on that unit. Maybe you get offered a job on a telemetry unit. You might consider taking that be-cause it’s easier to get trans-ferred into another unit than hired from outside.”

BELOW, THREE NURSES WEIGH IN ON THEIR JOURNEY TO A

SPECIALTY, WITH SOME ADVICE FOR OTHER NURSES:

Lisa Pacheco RN, BSN, Director of Maternal Child Services, Children’s Hospital at Nevada University Medical Center, Las Vegas

My personal journeyI always knew I wanted to help

moms and babies, because of a nurse who took care of me when I had my older child. I went into nursing school with the idea of

maternal care but was advised not to specialize early on so I did medical-surgical nursing, then neuro subacute nursing, then I made a full circle back to my passion, a women’s care unit, and

realized my love of taking care of women and children. It’s a place where I can leave my footprint and make a difference. We’re a voice for families, making sure they’re taken care of. I’ve been

doing this for 23 years. There are so many aspects to this field—an-tepartum, NICU, women’s care unit, community nursing—it’s so broad so you can really find your niche.

Nurses get a great deal of first-hand knowledge of various categories of nursing as they do their rota-tions during nursing school.


Who does well in this specialty

Nurses with a passion for taking care of mothers and children do best. Follow your heart, and then even on that hardest day when you don’t think you can come back to work, you will. Find a unit that takes in new grads and trains them. Be careful not to take just anything. You want it to work for your goals.

What might surprise you about this specialty

A lot of nurses want to take care of moms and babies, but sometimes there’s disillusion.

Having a baby is a danger-ous thing. I always say it’s the most dangerous point of a young woman’s life. We tri-age patients, we have an OR for C-sections. If you work in a birthing center, it’s usually a quiet, beautiful experience. But

if it’s high risk, like here at the hospital, you’ll have your fill of adrenaline. The NICU is differ-

ent still, and so is postpartum. Also, when I started, if you

weren’t healthy you didn’t have babies. Now patients can have diabetes, heart problems, and asthma, and still get preg-nant. Their health is compro-mised and their pregnancy is

high risk. Patients come in by ambulance, very ill, and a lot of moms end up in the

ICU later—with nothing that’s pregnancy related.

Downside of specializationIf you do specialize early,

you may fear layoffs. If you’ve been a NICU nurse for 15 to 20 years, for instance, those nurses have a really hard time getting another job if we have a layoff.

For more information on this specialty, visit The Asso-ciation of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses website at www.awhonn.org.

Follow your heart, and then even on that hardest day when you don’t think you can come back to work, you will.

Lisa Pacheco, RN, BSN, Director of Maternal Child Services, Children’s Hospital at Nevada University Medical Center, Las Vegas


Erik Meyer, RN, BSN, Nursing Supervisor, Providence Seaside Hospital, Oregon

My personal journeyI chose ER for selfish rea-

sons—I’m an instant gratifica-tion person. In the ER, either we fix them or we send them away. Instant results. We get a go at it, and if they stabi-lize they go to ICU or another department. When I was in nursing school, I saw a level 1 trauma center in inner-city Detroit. Everything you see on

TV—well, that was that place. It was just a one-shift visit, but the next day I applied for a two-year internship. There were 500 applicants and they hired 30 of us. It was a free-for-all, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of place, but a great place to learn.

I’ve been in the ER at a small, rural, critical access hos-pital for 18 years, now as a

nursing supervisor. I work two 12-hour shifts; my wife and I are raising four kids and run-ning a coffee business. That’s the great thing about nurs-ing—you can work as much or as little as you want.


It’s so intense and we’re so busy that waiters and wait-

resses make the best ER nurses. You know to grab everything you need before leaving the kitchen, then check in on everyone to see how they’re doing and give them the best service possible! The ER is so like the food-service industry. That’s what I grew up doing—waiting tables.

Job search advice for new nurses

Just keep pushing. Intro-duce yourself to the ER man-ager and let them know your goal. Tell them, “If you need help, I’m available.” Keep pushing. When you pass them in the hall, ask “When can I work for you?”

ER personnel will respect people who are assertive. If you’re leaning in this direc-tion, start getting your certi-fications in order and working towards becoming a Certified Emergency Nurse. Get the books and start studying for the test.

For more information on this specialty, visit the Emer-gency Nurses Association at www.ena.org.

Brittney Wilson, RN, BSN, also known as “The Nerdy Nurse,” Clinical Informatics Nurse, Georgia

My personal journeyAfter my second year of

bedside nursing, I knew that I couldn’t do it forever. It’s

backbreaking and emotion-ally draining. I began search-ing for MSN programs that would allow me to elevate

my career and stumbled upon something called “Nursing Informatics.” When I read the job description, it was like

Brittney Wilson, RN, BSN, also known as “The Nerdy Nurse,” Clinical Informatics Nurse, Georgia

Erik Meyer, RN, BSN, Nursing Supervisor, Providence Seaside Hospital, Oregon


the clouds parted, the sun broke through, the angels be-gan to sing. Most informatics nurses are BSN-prepared. So I decided to pursue the career

without the MSN in hand to see if I got any traction; three months later, I was hired. Of course, my technology savvy as conveyed through my blog (www.thenerdynurse.com) were a big help with that. In my day job, I get to do what I love every day: combine tech-nology and health care to im-prove patient outcomes.


One of the primary parts of my job is translating the needs of nurses to IT and the needs of

IT to the nurses and other clini-cal staff. Sometimes, when nurs-es and nerds get together, it can seem like they’re speaking two separate languages. That’s where informatics nurses come in.

Job search advice for this specialty

Informatics nursing has become a hot specialty, and

because of this, it can be re-ally difficult to get your foot in the door. I will say that, at minimum, you should be BSN-prepared with at least three years of bedside nursing ex-perience. The MSN credential will certainly be a help, but many organizations also want experience, so try to find some way to get IT or technical ex-perience.

Certifications do command a higher salary. According to the HIMSS 2014 Nursing In-formatics Workforce Survey, the average salary for an in-formatics nurse in 2014 is $100,717, while the average salary for a nurse who is cer-tified in nursing informatics is $121,830.

For more information on this specialty, visit the Ameri-can Nursing Informatics Asso-ciation at www.ania.org.

Career advice for any nurseRead nursing blogs! There

are many message boards that are filled with negativity and lots of complaining. If you want to find something more uplifting and connect with people who are really passion-ate about nursing, then nurs-ing blogs are where it’s at!

Jebra Turner is a freelance health

and business writer based in

Portland, Oregon. She frequently

contributes to the Minority Nurse

magazine and website. Visit her

online at www.jebra.com.

That’s the great thing about nursing—you can work as much or as little as you want.

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When sick and injured patients arrive at hospitals for treatment, they also bring with them their unhealthy prejudices and biases. On the frontline of health care and healing, nurses may fi nd themselves dealing with patients who prefer a caregiver who is of the same race. Patients—or their loved ones—may express their racial preference with negative comments and intolerant behavior, or directly voice their desire for another nurse. In a perfect world, hospital management would not cater to racially biased requests or demands. But real life is imperfect.

One blatantly racist incident involving an African American nurse made nation-

al headlines in 2012 when a white, swastika-tattooed father demanded that no black nurse care for his sick baby at a Mich-igan hospital. That case served as a springboard for several lawsuits and as a template for health care providers of exactly

what not to do. Tonya Battle, a 25-year nurse at Flint’s Hurley Medical Center, worked in the neonatal intensive care unit when she met the white par-ent. After introducing herself, she was told by him to get her supervisor. The father relayed his racial preference to the su-pervisor, who reassigned Battle.

According to the Lansing State Journal, Battle said that

a note was posted on the as-signment clipboard reading: “No African American nurse to take care of baby.” Hospital offi cials removed the sign from the assignment chart after a short time. Still, black nurses were not assigned to care for the infant for about a month “because of their race,” accord-ing to the lawsuit. Battle’s case has since been settled.

While such overt incidents are isolated, no one should be shocked by racist patients, says Roberta Waite, EdD, APRN, CNS-BC, FAAN, associate pro-fessor of nursing and assistant dean of academic integration and evaluation of community programs at Drexel University’s College of Nursing and Health Professions.

“Racism is prevalent within

THE IMPACT OF

BY ROBIN FARMER

www.minoritynurse.com Minority Nurse Magazine @MinorityNurse 21 www.minoritynurse.com Minority Nurse Magazine @MinorityNurse 21

our society. At times it’s been more covert and other times it has been more overt. It’s much more covert now,” says Waite, although it depends on geographical areas. “The more shocking component is: what do we do about it? How do we talk about it? How do we work with our students if we work with them at all? And how do we have these discus-sions amongst our colleagues?”

Whatever the solutions may be for patients who discrimi-nate against nurses based on race, physicians need them, too. A 2010 survey of emer-gency room doctors found

that patients often reject the physician assigned to them and request a doctor of the same race, gender, or religion. Their requests are routinely accommodated. If the patient request came from someone who was female, non-white, or Muslim, it was more likely to be granted.

“It’s medicine’s open se-cret,” Kimani Paul-Emile, an associate professor of law at

Fordham University, told The New York Times. Paul-Emile did not respond to Minority Nurse’srequests for an interview but has written extensively on the topic. “The medical profes-sion knows this happens but doesn’t want to talk about it,” she wrote in an article in the UCLA Law Review titled “Pa-tients’ Racial Preferences and the Medical Culture of Accom-modation.”

So, how do nurses of color handle patient encounters they believe stem from bigotry?

For Stephanie Stith, RN, a travel nurse for the past 10 years of her 15-year career, staying calm is a coping strat-egy. “I just mainly look [at them]. I give myself some time, because it’s not worth losing a job for.” She recalled one expe-rience involving a patient who told her he was a member of the white supremacist Aryan Nation. “He looked at me and said, ‘I hate niggers.’ I said, ‘Good, so do I.’”

No other nurse was avail-able to treat him, so she as-

RACIST PATIENTS

Focusing on caregiving instead of the patient’s name-calling or other forms of intolerance is the best strategy, nurses say.


sumed her medical duties. As she worked, he continued his racist rant until she reminded him it was not smart to deride the person helping him stay alive. “I wanted him to know that I have the power over your life, and you are calling me names? Not that I was going to do anything; I just wanted him to think,” explains Stith, who says she deals more with slights than outright racism. For example, patients some-times assume she is a medi-cal tech instead of a registered nurse because she is black.

Stith also refrains from be-coming emotional when re-sponding to racist patients. “I need a paycheck. It doesn’t benefit me to get indignant. You can call me ‘nigger’ and say whatever you want, but at the end of the week I cash my paycheck. I am contracted to perform a service. I can’t change anybody’s mind or at-titude. All I can do is be the best I can.”

Retired nurse Dinah Pena-florida, RN, MPH, MSN, agrees. Her advice for new nurses deal-ing with such requests is to remember that “the patient’s comfort and trust comes first. It is more important to be pa-tient-centered in the care than to take the patient’s request

personally. When the patient is in pain and suffering, it is not the time to talk about race and discrimination.”

Penaflorida was born and raised in the Philippines. At 16,

she received an American Field Service Scholarship to spend a year in Hutchinson, Kansas. As a staff nurse at Kansas Universi-ty Medical Center in the 1980s, she encountered a few patients who requested a Caucasian nurse instead of her. When it occurred, she went to the charge nurse to comply with the request to “create a more comfortable environment for the patient to heal.” She left those experiences behind her when she moved to the West Coast. “Working in California was different. I did not experi-ence that,” says Penaflorida.

Focusing on caregiving in-stead of the patient’s name-calling or other forms of in-tolerance is the best strategy, nurses say. “l always keep in the back of my mind that I had the best training going because I am a nurse of color,”

says Deborah Bowser, RN, who has a master’s degree in health services administration and is a practice administrator in Richmond. “Most of my in-structors were nurses of color

and they dealt with worse situ-ations than I have. They always instilled in us that ‘you will be judged by the color of your skin and it will be assumed you are not a RN, and you do not have the experience.’ They took no slack from us. We were the best of the best.”

Bowser recalled being re-buffed by two white patients during her 43-year career. Both incidents happened in New York during her night shift. Each time, her super-visor told the patient she was one of the best nurses. “One patient decided they did not want to be treated by me because I was black, so I informed my supervisor. The patient was extremely ill, so I said, ‘You have a choice; let your prejudices go by the side and let me take care of you. I know what I am doing.’ In

one incident the patient said ‘yes,’ and in another the pa-tient said ‘no’ and did not get care for a very long time because there was no other nurse who was Caucasian who could care for that patient.”

Bowser says she would like to think in this day and age that race-based requests would be nonexistent, “but you are going to have people who do not want people of color touching them” regardless of their expertise. For any young nurse of color who encounters such patients, “carry yourself with pride and get a mentor to help you,” she advises.

Racist patients can over-whelm young nurses, says LaDonna Northington, DNS, RN, BC, professor of nursing and director of traditional undergraduate studies at the University of Mississippi Med-ical Center (UMMC) School of Nursing. “A young nurse would probably be intimidated and wouldn’t know what to do but leave out of the room, so they have to find a mentor to help them... problem solve through a situation like that. A seasoned nurse is able to take a high road. If you try to take care of the patient, they can call it assault,” so a nurse must learn how to accommodate a patient from a legal stand-point, she explains.

“For a young nurse, they should get their charge nurse or head nurse to intervene. It’s a tough call,” says Northing-ton, who has not dealt with a racist patient during her 35-year career.

“I can’t recall an incident when I was on the floor taking care of patients where I felt like a patient did not want me to take care of them because I was black...and you would

Carolina G. Huerta,

EdD, RN, FAAN

LaDonna Northington,

DNS, RN, BC

Roberta Waite,

EdD, APRN, CNS-BC, FAAN

For any young nurse of color who encounters such patients, “carry yourself with pride and get a mentor to help you,” Bowser advises.


think if it was anywhere bla-tant, it would be in the South where we are. I haven’t heard the students talk about it. It could be in pockets [of com-munities] or people deal with it in a different way.” The UMMC School of Nursing ad-dresses sensitivity and cultural awareness and understanding, she says, adding it’s possible that black patients may re-ject white nurses. “An elderly black person who has never trusted white people because of Tuskegee and those kinds of things and Mississippi history” may request a black nurse.

Discussing race makes many people uncomfortable, but nurses say it’s part of the so-lution. “When you are talk-ing about the elephants in the room, we talk more openly about religious differences... and gender or sexual orien-tation, but when you get to race, there is so much more hostility and changing the sub-ject,” says Waite. “It’s not talk-ed about openly... oftentimes not at all. I’m not shocked that those incidents occur; I am ac-tually surprised it doesn’t occur more often.”

Waite uses a social justice framework to talk about such topics as power, privilege, op-pression, “and every ism” in a leadership course she teach-es all undergraduate health profession students, includ-ing nurses. “I explicitly talk about it. However, most often within nursing clinical cours-es the topic is called ‘cultural competence.’ That’s the catch-all phrase that overlays issues of culture and diversity. That phrase is probably in every-body’s syllabus; however, how each person operationalizes what they do in teaching their students will vary,” she says. It

will come down to how com-fortable that faculty member is in guiding or leading or dis-cussing issues regarding race, she adds.

At the University of Tex-as-Pan American nursing de-partment, the curriculum em-phasizes culture and cultural differences among people, says Carolina G. Huerta, EdD, RN, FAAN, nursing department professor and chair. In one required course, undergrad-uate students spend at least two weeks listening to lectures and discussing the impact of culture on nursing care, with particular attention paid to debunking stereotypes and fo-cusing primarily on each per-son’s uniqueness. The course aims to sensitize students to issues related to racism and stereotyping.

“Once admitted to our pro-gram, every student must ad-dress cultural implications of their nursing care following each of their clinicals,” ex-plains Huerta. “There is a sec-tion on their assigned clinical paperwork that must be turned in that deals strictly with cul-tural implications of care. The students are asked to reflect on the patient that they cared for and address any cultural implications, whether these deal with the foods the patient ate, religious affiliations, overt or covert racism, family issues, et cetera.”

While some patients will always express a racial prefer-ence for nurses, what matters most is how the institution and administration respond to such requests. “If you cater and say ‘no black people will work with you,’ that’s the problem,” Waite argues. “A patient has the right to decide who will care for them, but they can’t do

it in a discriminatory manner. Instead, the response could be ‘Everyone here is competent to take care of you. If you choose to [reject care from a specific

nurse] that is fine, you can go to another hospital.’”

Most of the hospitals that have been in the news “gave in” to racial preferences, Waite notes. Hopefully, most hospi-tals have a statement within their policy on how to engage and work with clients if any-thing like this surfaces. Talk-ing about these issues is key, she adds.

“I think oftentimes today, people think either you are racist or not. It’s not that you are racist or not; racism is a

spectrum,” says Waite. “All of us continuously struggle to deal with prejudice and bias because no one is perfect. When trying to understand

where these thoughts come from and not feed into it, we move society forward. And it’s going to move forward as we are able to have these open and authentic conversations with one another.”

Robin Farmer covers health,

business, and education as a

freelance journalist. Based in Vir-

ginia, she contributes frequently

to Minority Nurse magazine and

website. Visit her at www.Rob-inFarmerWrites.com.

While some patients will always express a racial pref-erence for nurses, what matters most is how the insti-tution and administration respond to such requests.


With the increasing demand for more highly educated nurses and many hiring requirements now mandating a BSN, the nursing job market is in the midst of a massive shift.

The BSN figures prominently in the nursing field, especially since the Institute of Medi-cine’s report The Future of Nursing called for 80% of nurses to have a BSN by 2020. More

nurses are attaining the degree, but many of them wonder just what advantages the BSN can bring.

According to recruiters, a BSN automatically raises both your professionalism and your marketability. Recruiters, who act as a link between job seekers and the organizations looking for staff, also say a BSN is only one piece of the professional package needed to land your fi rst job out of school.

“More and more, a BSN is becoming the minimum requirement, as opposed to the preferred idealistic requirement,” says Amanda Bleakney, senior man-aging director of health services operations with The Execu|Search Group. In fact, many top-tier hospitals won’t hire a nurse without a BSN. “Nurses who aren’t getting a BSN are ruling themselves out of job opportunities,” she says.

What Is a Recruiter Looking For?Recruiters can help new grads fi nd a job, but as a

job seeker, you still have work to do. Recruiters want a BSN backed up by experience, but they also want to hear about any special skills you might have. They are trying to keep their clients happy and send them candidates they need, so the more precise and polished you are, the better the fi t will be.

“Anything we can use as a selling point to the cli-ent helps,” says Bleakney. “When it comes to the candidate side, we always have a selling point.” So if you’re looking for a job in the Bronx and you speak Spanish, you might be more valuable than someone who has a little more experience, but isn’t bilingual.

However, no matter how great your experience is, it means nothing if you don’t present yourself well. A recruiter can open the door for you, so it’s just as im-portant to show them your best, most professional self.

“A recruiter is a gatekeeper,” says Terry Bennett, presi-dent of the National Association for Health Care Re-

What Recruiters WantHow a BSN Can Help You Land a Job

BY JULIA QUINN-SZCESUIL

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cruitment. “Recruiters are help-ing to screen candidates the managers will then interview. Where graduates can present their best selves is by helping to qualify what they will bring to an organization.”

Your resume is your fi rst in-troduction, so use it to tell your story. “Tailor your resume,” Bleakney advises. Anything you

want to highlight, such as your bilingual skills, your experience with specifi c populations, or your electronic medical record training, should be at the top.

“Bad or poorly formatted re-sumes will rule nurses out of a

job,” says Bleakney. Even if a nurse hires a pro to craft her fl awless resume, Bleakney says it shows that she is someone

who cares about presentation and likely has strong adminis-trative skills, too.

Recruiters want candidates whose preparation and profes-sionalism will shine a light back on the recruitment fi rm. “We want to send the highest qual-ity, top candidate as we can because that candidate stands out for us,” says Bleakney. Very often, an initial phone screen will be followed up by an in-person meeting to go over all the candidate’s qualifi cations and background checks.

If you have anything that

could be interpreted as even slightly negative, be upfront with your recruiter, suggests Bleakney. “It’s always best to disclose something,” she says, or it can cost you a job instantly.

“Reputation is everything,” says Brenda Fischer, PhD, RN, MBA, CPHQ, FACHE, senior director of clinical education programs with AMN Health-care, a workforce solutions firm, so watch your social media posts and appearances carefully. “Employers can be very selective,” says Fischer,

According to recruiters, a BSN automatically raises both your professionalism and your marketability.

www.minoritynurse.com Minority Nurse Magazine @MinorityNurse 27 27 @MinorityNurse 27 www.minoritynurse.com Minority Nurse Magazine @MinorityNurse

and they will look at a candi-date’s online information.

Recruiters want people who represent them well, and they use your fi rst meeting to assess how you will present yourself to a client. Although it’s not an actual job interview, it is your fi rst step in getting a job. Don’t be late, dress profession-ally, and bring your resume and any other requested documents, recommends Bleakney. “Half of getting a job is showing up and being prepared,” she says. “If someone cancels continuously or is a no-call and no-show, I

know if they do that to me, they will do that to my clients.”

When you advance to an in-terview your recruiter sets up, do your research. “Know about the organization,” advises Bennett. “For the unit, what types of pa-

tients are there?” Make sure the organization knows why you want to be on that unit, with that manager, with that orga-nization, and why you are the best person for the job, she says.

What Does a BSN Do for a Nurse’s Career?

“Students should realize what they are getting from a BSN that is special,” says Hayley Mark, PhD, MPH, RN, an associate professor and the director of the baccalaureate program at Johns Hopkins School of Nurs-ing. “The degree means they have the ability to think criti-cally. They can evaluate evi-dence and apply it, and that skill is critical.”

Critical thinking means a nurse can assess the quality of care, says Mark. “It goes beyond the skills,” she says. “A BSN gives a system-wide perspective and helps nurses look beyond the one-on-one.” For instance, if there’s ever a medical error, a nurse can gather the reasons why it happened, can use that information to understand why it happened, and will then take that knowledge to implement changes to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

A BSN also opens doors for other prospects. “The future

of nursing is with a BSN,” says Julia Taylor, a BSN grad who works at Memorial Sloan Ket-tering Cancer Center on an in-patient gastrointestinal surgical oncology unit. “You’re more of a well-rounded nurse and will

have more opportunities down the road to pursue a master’s or doctoral degree.”

When you are interviewing, highlight not just your BSN but also the knowledge that comes with it. As with any education, a BSN gives you more in-depth nursing knowledge, but the specifi c training from a BSN also means you know how to look at the whole system and you have the skills to work in a leadership role across all sys-tems, says Mark. “Generally, if a company is comparing a BSN nurse to a less educated nurse, they will hire [the one with] the BSN,” she says.

When a nurse looks at the industry systemically, issues such as cost effectiveness, pa-

tient centeredness, communi-cation skills, awareness of the latest in patient safety, and familiarity with information technology are most pressing, says Fischer. That scope of-ten mirrors an organization’s approach as well, so hiring nurses who think that way benefi ts the entire company.

How Does a BSN Translate to Real Work?

The BSN degree prepares students for the broad think-ing required of future nurse leaders, but any hands-on ex-perience a new grad has or can get makes recruiters take notice. Many organizations are looking for a couple years of experience, says Bleakney, but are willing to consider new grads who can demonstrate how their clinical—or even their volunteer work—pre-pared them best.

A practicum in a similar unit will increase your chances as you will gain similar skills, says Bennett. But even work outside of health care is helpful if you frame it right. Did you manage a restaurant? Then you have great customer service skills, says Bennett. Did you head up an Eagle Scout group? You also fi ne-tuned your leadership skills in the process.

As a minority nurse, you can also highlight your diversity skills. In most organizations, the ratio of cultural diversity with patients and providers is not representative of the popu-lation. If you are a minority nurse looking for a job, recruit-ers in certain locations want to see your resume because health

care organizations are seeking a more diverse staff. “I would use that in crafting my resume and present it as a strength,” says Fischer.

Farzana Abed, a recent gradu-ate of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, chose a BSN pro-gram for the breadth of the studies, but her own back-

“Reputation is everything,” says Brenda Fischer, PhD, RN, MBA, CPHQ, FACHE, senior director of clinical education programs with AMN Healthcare, a workforce solutions fi rm, so watch your social media posts and appearances carefully.

When you are interviewing, highlight not just your BSN but also the knowledge that comes with it.

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ground offers employers a valu-able perspective. “A BSN offers a more comprehensive program with the social, cultural, and political aspects of nursing,” she says. Combining her educa-tion with her life experience as

an immigrant from Bangladesh who knows the challenges of language barriers, fi nancial dif-fi culties, and even racism makes her very aware of the challenges some patients face.

If your cultural or racial back-ground gives you a better un-derstanding of what minority patients might need or how they approach health care, your life experience combined with your BSN is going to be a sought-after skill. If you under-stand various cultural traditions surrounding health choices or if you are bilingual, let recruit-ers know those skills up front.

What Can You Do?“Get any work experience on

the unit and do the job well,” advises Mark. A shadowing ex-perience also helps you boost your knowledge and get your-self noticed, she says. Bleak-ney suggests seeking out profes-sional organizations that mirror your ideal job, whether that brings you to the Case Man-agement Society of America or with the Nurse Practitioner Association of New York State, so you can meet leaders and connect with others in the fi eld.

Networking, although it can be diffi cult for some, is a vi-tal step when you are looking

for a job. Get in touch with people through your alumni network or call a nurse manager or a nurse recruiter and impress them. “Every opportunity for volunteerism or professional development helps,” says Fisch-

er. “Build every relationship through your clinical experi-ence or through your school. Use every experience to form good relationships.”

Fischer acknowledges the special barriers of nurses who are going back to get a BSN after several years on the job. Unless they have actively worked at keeping their industry networks vibrant, it’s going to be harder for them to get out there and make the connections. They likely have pressing family ob-ligations or more job responsi-bility than a new grad and less time for networking. “Make your own network,” Fischer advises, saying a group of col-leagues can give specifi c career advice and family and friends can help out.

Where Are the Jobs?The need for BSN nurses

is great and will continue to rise as tougher standards are adapted. “Your educational background is fi rst and then your work experience,” says Bennett. But for new BSN nurs-es, fl exibility with location or setting plays a big role in your job search.

Talk with recruiters in dif-ferent areas of the country to fi nd out about job prospects

If your cultural or racial background gives you a bet-ter understanding of what minority patients might need or how they approach health care, your life experience combined with your BSN is going to be a sought-after skill.

www.minoritynurse.com Minority Nurse Magazine @MinorityNurse 29 www.minoritynurse.com Minority Nurse Magazine

and consider relocating, even if it’s only for a short while. For instance, suburban and ru-ral areas are traditionally less competitive job markets than the big cities like New York or San Francisco, says Mark, so you might land a position that matches your interests, even if it’s not your fi rst loca-tion choice. “Once you come in with experience, it makes you a totally different candidate,” says Mark.

Be open to different op-tions, but even if you consider a placement as a temporary stop on your way to something else, don’t treat the job as a place marker, advises Bennett. Recruiters and employers want a candidate who is committed to the job, so give it your all to gain the experience you need.

If your fi eld is especially com-petitive, consider all the places where you can gain skills fi rst. “As nurses, we have to be proac-tive and strategic,” says Fischer.

A long-term care facility, a school, or a substance abuse facility can offer enough expe-rience to make you that much more marketable, says Bleak-ney. “This is not the time to be particular,” she says. “This is the time to get the experience on your resume. Nurses who get

the experience and then apply for their dream jobs are ahead of all the others who don’t have the experience.” Even working at a smaller community hospi-tal might just give you enough knowledge of certain cultures or neighborhoods to make the dif-ference in your next interview.

How Do You Find a Recruiter?Finding a recruiter is not

hard. Ask around to fi nd out who colleagues have worked with or who your school rec-ommends. You can also call the human resources depart-ment of your dream organiza-tion and ask which recruiting fi rm they work with or even the contact information for the recruiter, says Bennett. “If you really want to work somewhere, call that recruiter and ask what the process is,” she says. Do they have rolling starts or is it a month of inter-views? Do they welcome calls after you have applied or are calls a no-no? Are new grads considered?

By asking relevant and spe-cifi c questions, you can help shape your own process to max-imize the recruiter’s time and resources as well as your own.

When you meet a recruiter, use the time wisely and be organized and open-minded. Your different skills can help recruiters recognize other ar-eas that would offer a good fi t for your skills. Even roles you may not have ever entertained might turn out to be an ex-cellent prospect, says Fischer. Health coaches, care coordina-tors, and clinical documenta-

tion specialists are just a few roles emerging for nurses, says Fischer.

“Flexibility is key in health care, especially as a new gradu-ate,” says Bleakney.

Julia Quinn-Szcesuil is a freelance

writer based in Bolton, Massachu-

setts.

What Recruiters Expect from New Grads “We look for a new graduate that has a passion for pediatrics and family-centered care as well as proven leadership for the nursing profession. A critical thinker who will be in the forefront of delivering excellent nurs-ing care while collaborating with the team to be a patient and family advocate.”

—Andree Mulia, RN, BSN, CHCR, Nurse Recruiter, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

“Florida Hospital looks for new grads who are passionate about the mission statement of the hospital, which is to ‘extend the healing ministry of Christ.’ We also look for new grads who are a model of excellence not only in their academics but also in their character.”

—Douglas Mvududu, HR Recruitment Team I, Florida Hospital

“As a nurse recruiter with Sentara Healthcare, I seek registered nurses that will help us move forward with our vision to create an environment of health and healing for our patients. We emphasize Sentara’s culture of safety and accountability, creating a caring and compassionate environment, and collaborate with our health care team.”

—Erin Creath, PHR, Nurse Recruiter

“We are looking for a nurse with a passion for pediatric nursing, excellent customer service and communication skills, and any experience working with children and their families. Nursing students should make sure that they include an excellent cover letter and resume with their applications. My best advice to students is to use the hospital website to research the organizations they are applying to in order to customize their cover letter and prepare for potential interviews. They have to be able to sell themselves. How will they help the organization they wish to join to meet the organization’s mission?”

—Jill Titone Board, MS, BSN, RN, NE-BC, Nurse Recruiter, Children’s National Health System, Washington, DC

“I like to know that the new graduate BSN is excited about becoming a nurse, is compassionate and sensitive to cultural differences, and believes in the hospital mis-sion. I also want to know the new nurse is proud of their career choice and is professional in communication and appearance, dedicated to learning, and seeks opportuni-ties to learn and grow.”

—Mary Blessing, University of New Mexico, Director of the Nurse Residency Program

But for new BSN nurses, fl exibility with location or setting plays a big role in your job search.


Tackling Student Loan Debt

BY DENENE BROX


Advancing your education isn’t a prescription for debt. Here’s how to earn that degree without interest.

One out of 10 Americans has student loan debt. That debt is steadily on the rise, with pro-

jections putting the total at $1 trillion this year, according to numbers compiled by Con-solidated Credit. That num-ber may seem unfathomable to many, but how big is your slice of that debt pie? Do you view student loans as the only way to fund your nursing edu-cation?

If you answered yes, it’s un-derstandable why you may feel that loans just come with

the territory of higher educa-tion. After all, tuition is at an all-time high—with no signs of slowing down. According to The College Board’s Annual Survey of Colleges, average in-state tuition and fees are $8,893 for public four-year and $3,264 for public two-year institutions. To put those numbers into perspective, the average yearly tuition at a four-year school in the 1980s was $3,449.

If you dream of becoming a nurse or if you are already a

nurse and wish to earn an ad-vanced degree (or two), know that you don’t have to con-tribute to those startling na-tional student debt totals. Take the time to become fi nancially savvy and seek out the right opportunities, and you could come out with substantially less student loan debt than your fellow classmates.

One of the fi rst steps before making decisions about fund-ing your education is to step back and thoroughly research your options. Look at the type of degree you are considering

and make sure there is a high enough demand in the job market and job growth projec-tions for that specialty. Also, look at salary averages for your chosen degree/career plan.

“Very few people can af-ford to pay for college out-of-pocket,” says Tiffany “The Budgetnista” Aliche, author of The One Week Budget: Learn to Create Your Money Management System in 7 Days or Less! “But student loans are avoidable if you plan carefully. Student loan debt in itself is not bad.

The problem is that most peo-ple chose student loan debt as their fi rst option and it really should be their last.”

Aliche stresses that getting an education is an investment. “What you put in should give you more money back in re-turn, and if it doesn’t then you have made a gross er-ror,” she warns. “If you in-vest $150,000 and only make $40,000 coming out, that’s a mistake. It doesn’t make sense. For example, if a doc-tor invests $100,000— that’s OK because they’re probably going to make over $100,000.”

Shannon McNay, communi-ty outreach and customer sup-port manager at ReadyForZero, an online debt elimination tool, agrees. “Crunching the numbers is the absolute best way a nurse can decide if he or she should pursue an advanced degree,” she says. “What are the projected earn-ings for the position a higher degree will get you? Compare the price of the schools you’d go to and see which one you’d pick. If the tuition is equal to one year of the pay, it could be a worthwhile opportunity.”

The college or university you select can instantly drive up or reduce the cost of your education. “People will say ‘go to the best college you can.’ I

www.minoritynurse.com

Look at the type of degree you are considering and make sure there is a high enough demand in the job market and job growth projections for that specialty.


disagree. I say go to the col-lege that offers you the most money,” argues Aliche. “If you go to this amazing col-

lege and they offer you no money [scholarships], and you come out owing hundreds of thousands of dollars, no one cares that you went to Princ-eton and you don’t have a job. If you work really hard and do internships, you can compensate for not going to a school with a big name. But you can’t compensate for owing $100,000 in debt. And then you’re going to be stuck with a job that you hate be-cause you have to pay off the student loan debt.”

The Importance of a Nursing Education

The Institute of Medicine’s 2010 report The Future of Nurs-ing reported that the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree is the new starting point to get hired as a regis-tered nurse. In fact, according to the fi ndings, nurses with a BSN will increase from 50% to 80% by 2020.

There’s no denying that the higher you go in your nurs-ing education, the higher you can go in your nursing career and earning potential. With our ever-changing health care landscape that is a result of the Affordable Care Act, ad-vanced practice nurses (e.g., nurse practitioners, clinical

nurse specialists, certifi ed reg-istered nurse anesthetists, and certifi ed nurse-midwives) are often primary care providers.

Those roles require a master’s or doctorate degree. They also require a large investment of time and money.

Paying for Your Education Before you sign on the dot-

ted line for that student loan, it’s wise to explore other op-tions for paying for your de-gree. For starters, look into scholarship opportunities—

you may find easy money waiting for someone like you to claim it.

Aliche says that most stu-dents never apply for any scholarships. “It’s smart to explore scholarships as many programs offer them but have no applicants, mak-ing the competition low,” she explains. “There are a lot of people who say ‘I don’t want to apply’ or ‘I won’t get it.’ Ap-ply, since you may be the only one. There may be three schol-arships and three people ap-plied; so by default, you win.”

Another alternative to stu-dent loans is to work while

you’re in school and pay as you go. Many students can’t go to college full-time and lit-erally work their way through evening and weekend pro-grams. Accelerated master’s programs can be good options for parents who need to main-tain employment while work-ing on their degree.

“I think employment during your college/advanced degree experience is a good way to pay for—or at least offset—the cost of tuition, fees, books, and living expenses,” says John Heath, an attorney with Lexington Law, a credit repair fi rm. “Further, there are em-ployers that will pay for col-lege/advanced degree courses as long as the course fi ts their respective business model and

you meet the criteria expected by the employer.”

If you have exhausted all other options for paying for your education, it’s time to look into student loans to help fi ll the gaps. But it’s vital that students fully understand the various types of loans and the terms and conditions.

As a general rule of thumb, Aliche advises students to steer clear of private loans because of interest fl uctua-tion. She says federal loans are the best choice because they offer a fi xed interest rate and less risk overall.

“With private loans, if you

get sick or even if you pass away, you may still owe be-cause, usually with a private loan, you have to get a co-signer—making that person equally responsible for the loan,” explains Aliche. “If you pass away, that person may still have to pay. But with a federal loan, if you pass away or become disabled, your stu-dent loan is forgiven. If you can no longer perform those tasks or face fi nancial hard-ship, you can apply for for-bearance, which means they allow you not to pay [on the loan] for six months to a year until you get back on your feet. Private loans do not offer that option. That’s why I tell people, if you’re going to get a loan, try not to get private loans because, when it comes to repaying it, there are very strict guidelines that are not there for federal loans.”

Loan Repayment ProgramsBecause skilled nurses are in

high demand, especially in ur-ban and rural areas, there are programs through the govern-ment, nonprofi ts, and employ-ers offering loan forgiveness to nurses who are willing to work in underserved areas for a specifi ed amount of time.

“People will say ‘go to the best college you can.’ I disagree. I say go to the college that offers you the most money,” argues Aliche.

Before you sign on the dotted line for that student loan, it’s wise to explore other options for paying for your degree.


The US Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Servic-es Administration offers the NURSE Corps Loan Repay-ment Program (http://nhsc.hrsa.gov) for professional registered nurses working in a critical shortage facility. Those accepted receive 60%

of their total qualifying nurs-ing education loan balance for two years of service.

National Health Service

Corps alumna Tamara Bum-pus, MSN, NP-C, a nurse based in Toledo, Ohio, took advantage of the loan re-payment program and has already completed her two-year commitment.

“I work for the Neighbor-hood Health Association, which serves the homeless,

and the other offi ce I work at serves the underserved— peo-ple with low-to-no insurance,” says Bumpus. “I always heard

that there’s money out there. I researched and found that the National Health Service Corps was available, and I applied for it. It seemed like a diffi cult process at fi rst, but it was more of a waiting game—waiting to see if you were going to be approved or not for the loan reimbursement—and I

was approved the fi rst time I applied. There’s nothing bet-ter than getting money back after you’ve taken out student

loans. I wanted to be a nurse practitioner, and it was so helpful to have that burden re-moved. If I had known about the scholarships, I would have done that also.”

Smart Budgeting for Repayment

If you already have existing student loans or plan to get one in the future, it’s smart to plan early for how you will repay the debt. Aliche says an old-fashioned budget is the best place to start.

“Include everything from your rent to getting your hair done,” Aliche says. “Before you can pay a loan back, you need to know how much you can afford. So if you add up your money list and your life

Because skilled nurses are in high demand, especially in urban and rural areas, there are programs through the government, nonprofi ts, and employers offering loan forgiveness to nurses who are willing to work in underserved areas for a specifi ed amount of time.


costs you $2,500 per month and you make $4,000, you will know how much you can afford to make in payments.”

Aliche says that only you can know how much you can truly afford to pay each

month— not your lender. “No one should tell you

how much your payment should be, you should tell them,” she argues. “You can say, ‘Honestly, I did my bud-get and, with my bills, I don’t have $300 per month [for payments]. I have $150 that I can guarantee.’ It’s a differ-ent conversation when you say that. ‘I have a budget and you want me to promise you $300, but you’re not going to get that.’ That’s the kind of conversation that you want to have. You can defi nitely try to negotiate your monthly pay-ment. It may take you talking to fi ve people on the phone or a week of calling. I know someone whose monthly pay-ment was $900 and she got it down to $400 per month. You can e-mail them a copy of your budget so they can see that you don’t have things like cable. Most people are not having that conversation with their lender, so that’s why it’s easier for someone to say yes to you.”

Another good strategy for those still in school is to make payments now, not after graduation.

“Calculate a small amount of money to pay each month so you can get a head start,”

McNay suggests. “You may also want to dedicate some monthly savings to building an emergency fund. If you end up fi nding a higher-paying job out of state, you’ll want some startup money to get

you there. Don’t lose out on opportunities just because you’re not fi nancially ready for them. School is a great time to save.”

McNay says nursing stu-dents should stay mindful of what’s available to them after graduation. “If you’re really struggling, the [federal government’s] Income-Based Repayment Program [https://studentaid.ed.gov] can be an absolute lifesaver— yet so few people know about it,” she says. “Stay up-to-date on changes in legislation that can benefi t your fi nances—these changes aren’t just for current students.”

By educating yourself on the various options for fund-ing your education, you can avoid the many pitfalls that land so many students in mountains of debt. Careful planning will allow you to be-gin to build the life you dream of after you graduate, whether that’s traveling the world or buying a home. The less stu-dent loan debt you have, the faster you can fi nance your other dreams.

Denene Brox is a freelance writer

based in Kansas City, Kansas.

Student Loan Do’s and Don’tsThere is so much information out there about student loans. Keep these expert tips in mind to keep your loans in check.

Do Face Your Debt“If you don’t already know who you owe or how much you owe, drop everything and fi nd out right now. Ignoring the student loans will not make them go away. This website will help you fi gure it out: www.nslds.ed.gov.” —Shannon McNay, community outreach and customer support manager, ReadyForZero

Do Be Careful When Consolidating“Do not refi nance a federal loan to a private company. All of the protection you get with a federal loan, you will not get it if you refi nance with a private company. With a federal loan you can consolidate. So if you have 10 federal loans, they will take the average interest and give you one payment.” —Tiffany “The Budgetnista” Aliche

Do Shop Around“Pick your top fi ve schools and talk to each of them about the real cost of your degree. Financial aid packages vary greatly, so let the schools make you an offer.” —Matt Kelly, founder, Momentum: Personal Finance Coaching

Don’t Waste Refund Checks“If you get back $2,000, some people think that’s free money. No, that’s money that you owe. If you don’t need that money, send it back. That will lower how much you owe when you get out of school.” —Tiffany “The Budgetnista” Aliche

Don’t Overborrow“It’s a mistake to take a large amount (more than needed) of student loans to maintain the lifestyle you were accustomed to at your parents’ house. It is better to live like a student while you are a student than to live like a student after you have graduated because of your large student loan payment.” —John Heath, attorney at Lexington Law

McNay says nursing students should stay mindful of what’s available to them after graduation.

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMMINORITY NURSE

Sponsored by the National Coalition of Ethnic National Coalition of Ethnic

Minority Nurse Associations (NCEMNA) Minority Nurse Associations (NCEMNA) and

Minority Nurse MagazineMagazine

Nurses will always be valuable members of any health Nurses will always be valuable members of any health care team, regardless of their educational backgrounds. care team, regardless of their educational backgrounds. Yet, the baccalaureate and master’s degrees in nursing Yet, the baccalaureate and master’s degrees in nursing may offer the most professional opportunities. may offer the most professional opportunities.

That’s why Minority Nurse has teamed up with NCEMNA has teamed up with NCEMNA to co-sponsor an annual scholarship to help outstanding to co-sponsor an annual scholarship to help outstanding nurses from under-represented groups complete their nurses from under-represented groups complete their studies toward a Bachelor or Master of Science in Nursing. studies toward a Bachelor or Master of Science in Nursing. To date, we have awarded scholarships to more than 40 To date, we have awarded scholarships to more than 40 students, honoring their commitment to the profession, students, honoring their commitment to the profession, academic excellence, and community service.academic excellence, and community service.

We are currently accepting applications for our 16th an-We are currently accepting applications for our 16th an-nual scholarship competition, consisting of two $1,000 nual scholarship competition, consisting of two $1,000 nual scholarship competition, consisting of two $1,000 nual scholarship competition, consisting of two $1,000 awards and one $3,000 award. Scholarships will be paid Scholarships will be paid in summer 2015 for the fall 2015 academic term.

Questions? E-mail [email protected] or visit Questions? E-mail [email protected] or visit www.minoritynurse.com/scholarship/minority-nurse-www.minoritynurse.com/scholarship/minority-nurse-magazine-scholarship-program

MINORITY NURSE16th16th16 Annual Scholarship Program

Application Form(Please print clearly)

Name ______________________________________________________________________________________________Address ____________________________________________________________________________________________City/State/ZIP Code _________________________________________________________________________________Phone _______________________________ E-mail________________________________________________________Nursing school ______________________________________________________________________________________Expected date of graduation _________________________________________________________________________

Gender: ❏ Male ❏ Female

Ethnic background: ❏ African American ❏ Hispanic/Latino ❏ Asian/Pacifi c Islander❏ American Indian/Alaskan Native ❏ Filipino ❏ Other______________

Please list any nursing associations (student, minority, or otherwise) to which you belong: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Who Is Eligible (Please read carefully. Applications that do not meet the eligibility criteria will be disqualifi ed.)To apply for this scholarship, students must meet all four of the following criteria:

Be a minority in the nursing profession

Be enrolled (as of September 2015) in either:

• The third or fourth year of an accredited BSN program in the United States; or

• An accelerated program leading to a BSN degree (such as RN-to-BSN or BA-to-BSN); or

• An accelerated master’s entry program in nursing for students with bachelor’s degrees

in fi elds other than nursing (such as BA-to-MSN).

Note: Graduate students who already have a bachelor’s degree in nursing are not eligible.

Have a 3.0 GPA or better (on a 4.0 scale)

Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident

How to Apply (Please read carefully. Applications that do not include the required documentation will be disqualifi ed.) Complete and return this form along with all three of the following documents:

Transcript or other proof of GPA

Letter of recommendation from a faculty member outlining academic achievement

A brief (250-word) written statement summarizing your academic and personal accomplishments, community

service, and goals for your future nursing career

Important: An English translation must be provided for any documentation that is not in English.

Minority Nurse will award one $3,000 scholarship and two $1,000 scholarships in 2015. Selections will be made by

NCEMNA. Scholarships will be paid in summer 2015. Minority Nurse reserves the right to verify community service and fi nancial need.

Deadline for application: February 1, 2015Return application form and documentation to: Minority Nurse Magazine Scholarship,

Springer Publishing Company, 11 W. 42nd Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10036

Academic Forum


The Life of a Humanitarian Relief NurseBY ARCHANA PYATI

Sharon Tissell, RN, dreamed of one day helping those around the world without the fortune of growing up in a loving, middle-class family like hers. Tim Harrison, RN, MPH, fl ew for 10 years with a medical helicopter service and knew he had the right skill set to make a difference. Martina Ford found that she thrived in multicultural settings.

All three of these nurses have found their pro-fessional sweet spot, which, at most, pays

them a modest stipend and requires them to endure Spar-tan—and often dangerous—liv-ing conditions for months at a time. They are humanitarian medical relief nurses who make multiple trips each year to the very places we see in the news that we are told to avoid.

Places like the Syrian-Leba-nese border, which is experi-encing the largest exodus of refugees in recent history as Syrians fl ee their country af-ter a brutal government crack-down and civil war began in 2011. Or South Sudan, Africa’s newest nation where ethnic rivalries have destabilized a fragile government and led to violence, bloodshed, and the internal displacement of tens of thousands. Or the Philip-pines, where Typhoon Haiyan fl attened towns and villages, crippling a country’s capacity to deliver basic services and medical care to its people.

What motivates Tissell, Har-rison, and Ford to return to these situations time and again is the opportunity to offer unconditional care, comfort, and compassion to the world’s most vulnerable populations. Across vast geographic, cul-tural, and ethnic boundaries,

their work goes to the heart of what nursing is.

They don’t let politics and war keep them away, although these are often the factors fuel-ing the crises at hand. While fearless, humanitarian relief nurses are hardly reckless, receiving intensive security training from their sponsor-ing organizations and working on highly coordinated teams where personal safety is valued above all else. Moreover, these nurses hardly see what they do as a personal sacrifi ce.

“It’s not about you,” says Harrison, a nurse with Médi-cins Sans Frontières (MSF), or

Doctors Without Borders, who lives in Maine when he is not traveling for MSF. “It’s really about the direct connection between donors [of humani-tarian aid] and benefi ciaries. You’re simply the conduit.”

Wearing Multiple HatsWhile nursing can be a

satisfying career, it also runs the risk of being repetitious; working internationally can be a “way to break out of the doldrums going into your shift every day,” says Sue Averill, RN, cofounder and president of One Nurse At a Time, an organization that provides in-formation and scholarships to nurses who want to work in humanitarian relief. Averill herself has gone on eight mis-sions with MSF and several others with Medical Teams In-ternational (MTI), based in Ti-gard, Oregon, and with Smile Train, based in New York City.

Averill says experiences in the ER, ICU, surgical, and critical care fl oors are great prepara-tion, as are courses in public health and tropical diseases such as Dengue fever, malaria, and others rarely seen in the West.

Also invaluable are critical thinking skills that empow-er you to be resourceful and in situations where supplies, medicines, and equipment are limited. Reorienting yourself to medicines that may be similar to those in American hospitals but with different branding, dosage levels, and packaging is also key.

Being able to communicate crossculturally and under-standing cultural biases are as important as having strong medical training, Averill says. For example, a small white pill may be perceived to be inferior to a large white pill or a colored capsule in certain cultures. Lo-cal people and medical staff

Academic Forum


may “imbue [Western nurs-es] with qualities [they] may or may not have,” she adds. “People believe that simply because you came across the world to help them that you come with something better than they have,” even when that may not be the case.

That’s why it’s critical to have frequent conversations with patients to understand cultural biases and figure out how to work around them. One major strategy is to make sure you and your translator are “on the same page,” sug-gests Averill.

Relief work also requires nurses to wear multiple hats, she adds: “You’re a human re-sources person. You’re diagnos-ing and treating. You’re hiring and firing.” But perhaps most importantly, you’re teaching local people to think critically.

Averill was once tasked with setting up a hospital for Dar-furian refugees in an isolated village on the border between Western Sudan and Chad. The endeavor required training lo-

cal workers, including a woman who said she was a traditional birth attendant. After asking the attendant how many weeks pregnant a local woman was, the attendant said “36,” when the woman was nowhere near full-term. It was then that Aver-ill realized that the attendant was unable to count.

In a similar vein, other work-ers claimed to know how to take pulses and blood pressures,

but in fact didn’t understand how to do either. Another worker wore the same pair of gloves as she screened patients for malaria.

“They were doing these tasks rotely and not understanding what they mean,” Averill says.

“That critical thinking piece wasn’t there.”

So, Averill went over the ba-sics, teaching the staff how to take vital signs, the importance of glove disposal and frequent hand washing, and how to do A/B/O typing for blood trans-fusions. “It was really fun to see the light bulb go on,” Aver-ill says, similar to the one go-ing off in her own head as she stretched her own skill set.

Similarly, Ford had little ex-perience in obstetrics before traveling with MTI to the Na-kivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda last year. The local midwives were eager to see a “muzungu,” or white person, to deliver a refugee woman’s baby. So with “no IV, no moni-tors, no electricity,” Ford says she stepped up to the plate and did it. “It was mind-blowing.”

“When you’re talking to peo-ple about going on these trips, many people like the idea of it,” she adds. “But nothing is what you think it’s going to be.”

Street SmartsHaving a successful experi-

ence as a humanitarian relief nurse also requires emotional fortitude, flexibility, and the ability to think on your feet, says Harrison. Being a medi-cal transport nurse for Boston MedFlight not only gave him a broad skill set in obstetrics, pediatrics, and trauma care, but also taught him the importance

of teamwork and maintaining equilibrium in situations that are fluid and unpredictable.

Harrison first encountered MSF in 2004 working on a vol-unteer assignment in Chad with another medical assistance orga-nization. What impressed him about MSF was its long-term in-vestment in communities lack-ing the medical infrastructure to contend with disease outbreaks and public health emergencies. He also observed that MSF didn’t do “drop-in medicine” like other relief organizations did, allowing it to have a larger impact; he also admired MSF’s independence from government funding and its neutral stance towards politi-cal debates and conflicts. With several international assistance trips under his belt, he decided to apply for a full-time nursing position with MSF.

After a lengthy interview process with MSF, Harrison was accepted in 2008 and left Boston MedFlight with the blessings of his boss. That

While fearless, humanitarian relief nurses are hardly reckless, receiving intensive security training from their sponsoring organizations and working on highly coordinated teams where personal safety is valued above all else.

Sharon Tissell, RN, on a humanitarian mission with MTI in May 2013 to provide medical aid to Syrian refugees in

Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley

Academic Forum


year, Zimbabwe was being dev-astated by a cholera epidemic caused by the breakdown of water sanitation and sewage systems in urban areas; the disease spread quickly to the countryside after city-dwellers visited relatives in rural areas.

Harrison’s first assignment was to manage a database that tracked the epidemic as it moved from cities to towns and villages. Later on, he joined a team responding to malnutrition and cholera in prisons around Harare, the country’s capital. Rather than focusing on the prison’s wa-ter delivery system, the MSF team focused on chlorinating the water supply, boosting the immune systems of prisoners through antibiotics and nutri-tional therapy, and getting in-fected prisoners into treatment.

After six years with MSF and multiple trips to conflict zones throughout Africa, Harrison says the work brings out his street smarts. “I seem to have the mentality that [MSF] can put me some place in the world and I can work out what’s going on,” he says.

At no other time was Harri-son’s even-keeled temperament tested more than a harrow-ing trip to South Sudan late last year. His experience also underscores how rapidly the situation on the ground can change and the importance of staying alert and in contact with team members.

Since 2009, Harrison has made trips to South Sudan, which achieved independence

from Sudan in 2011 after a pro-tracted civil war between rival ethnic groups. MSF has had a strong presence in the region since 1983, delivering primary and secondary health care in clinics and hospitals in several major cities including Juba, the

capital, as well as Lankien, Bor, Bentiu, and Malakal.

On his first trip in 2009, Har-rison went to Lankien to over-see a feeding center for mal-nourished residents. He spent time training local hospital staff who had little or no medical training. After a brief trip to the region in 2010, he returned to Malakal in October 2013 to see the fruits of MSF’s investment in the local workforce. “You could really see the change,” he remembers. “I had skilled people working for me.”

As with his previous trips, Harrison was assigned to one of MSF’s kala azar treatment centers within the Malakal Teaching Hospital. Kala azar, a tropical disease that attacks the immune system and is fatal if untreated, is transmitted to humans through sand flies, car-riers of the leishmania parasite. The disease persists in Sudan despite MSF’s long-established kala azar clinics.

On December 15, 2013, a coup was attempted on Presi-dent Salva Kiir’s postindepen-dence administration after long-simmering tensions be-tween rival ethnic groups, the Dinka and Nuer, exploded. A Dinka, President Kirr accused Vice President and Nuer poli-tician Riek Machar of insti-

gating the coup. The military began splintering along ethnic lines, and armed conflict be-gan spreading from Juba to other regions.

By the week of Christmas, the fighting had reached Mal-akal. Harrison and an Amster-dam-based MSF team were hunkered down in their rented house in the middle of Mal-akal’s downtown marketplace, gunfire and mortars explod-ing around them. Harrison and others had been staying in touch with MSF outposts in Juba and other cities to get the latest news. “By the time it became obvious something was going to happen, we couldn’t get out,” he recalls.

The group managed to move down the street to a house rent-ed by an MSF team from Spain. Altogether, there were nine MSF team members who had remained in Malakal, holed up in a 12 x 12 room for 36 hours until Christmas Day, when the shooting began to dissipate. By Thursday, the day after Christ-mas, the teams decided to make their way back to the Malakal Teaching Hospital to assist an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) surgical team with a brand new set of patients: soldiers and civilians wounded in the crossfire.

When he returned to the hospital, Harrison noticed that many of the healthier

kala azar patients had simply fled. He quickly switched gears and helped set up a 60-bed tri-age unit to deal with the sheer

numbers of wounded stream-ing into the hospital. With his experience as a trauma nurse, Harrison jumped in to assist the ICRC surgeons with anesthesia, wound debridement, IVs, and “whatever was needed.”

Harrison’s work continued on like this until mid-January, but what was becoming pain-fully obvious was the deterio-ration of the security situation inside the hospital. Initially, the soldiers agreed not to bring their guns inside, but soon, guns and “cases of whisky” could be found on the hospi-tal grounds. Family members of the wounded and refugees from Malakal soon began over-running the hospital to escape the violence.

“At one point, there were 1,000 people in the hospital,” Harrison says. “It had become an IDP [Internally Displaced Persons] camp.”

What finally convinced Har-rison and his fellow MSF team members who had remained in Malakal that staying was no longer an option was when teams in both MSF residences took a hit. The Spanish team was robbed of their mobile phones and laptops at gun-point by an armed group; a drunken soldier burst into the compound where Harrison and the rest of the Amsterdam team were staying and started shoot-ing in the air. The house’s se-

curity staff talked the soldier down and got him to leave. The next day, Harrison and the entire MSF team headed

Also invaluable are critical thinking skills that empower you to be resourceful and in situations where supplies, medicines, and equipment are limited.

Having a successful experience as a humanitar-ian relief nurse also requires emotional fortitude, flexibility, and the ability to think on your feet, says Harrison.

Academic Forum


to a United Nations compound outside of Malakal and were on a flight out of the county soon after.

Harrison says the decision to leave was wrenching, but one that ultimately made sense given the escalating conflict. The hardest part was wonder-ing whether the work could be continued by the hospital’s local staff, many of whom said that it probably wouldn’t. (By February, MSF had to suspend its activities at Malakal Teach-ing Hospital, according to a recent MSF report.) Still, the team’s departure weighs on his mind: “How does this look that you’re having to flee? You can always leave. You can always go home. What about the peo-ple left behind?”

A Higher PurposeTissell remembers clearly

what inspired her to work internationally: the National Geographic magazines her par-ents subscribed to at the fam-ily’s home in Kerkhoven, Min-nesota. As she perused stories about hardship and tradition-al cultures from all over the world, she began to realize that “not everyone had the same upbringing as me.”

Her parents, now in their 80s and extremely supportive of her work with MTI, gave Tis-sell both a great childhood and self-awareness. “I had a strong sense as a young person that I had a whole lot and [some] people had nothing,” she says.

Ford, too, was deeply affect-ed by the unequal distribution of medical care throughout the world. As a childhood survivor of uterine cancer, Ford pursued nursing because of wonderful care she received at a children’s hospital in Portland. “I have a lot of guilt related to inequali-

ties in medicine and educa-tion,” she says. She channels her guilt into providing medi-cal assistance and communi-cating across cultures through trips with MTI.

With her propensity to help those in need, nursing was a natural fit for Tissell. When her eldest of four children turned 17 in 1999, she decided to join an MTI month-long trip to Honduras to set up mobile medical clinics in remote vil-lages destroyed by Hurricane Mitch. The last two weeks, Tis-sell’s team packed their med-icine and supplies and rode mules into the dense jungles of the Mosquito Coast. “We saw a lot of Dengue fever, malaria, a lot of infections from inju-ries, upper respiratory infec-tions…and childhood disease that hadn’t be treated with vac-cines,” she recalls.

Over the next 15 years, Tis-sell went on more than a dozen medical trips with MTI. She now works shifts at two differ-ent hospitals to accommodate and subsidize her travel.

Through her work, Tissell has provided medical care to refugee communities around the world uprooted by high-

profile natural disasters and wars. She has treated fam-ine-stricken Somali families seeking refuge in Ethiopia. She served in an IDP camp in northern Uganda to receive malnourished women and chil-dren who had fled the terror of Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army. On a trip with

Los Angeles-based Interna-tional Medical Corps, she was treating civilians at hospitals in Libya just days before Colo-nel Quaddafi was captured and killed. And she was in a tented settlement in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley in May 2013 providing medical care to the thousands of middle-class families from Damascus and other Syrian cit-ies streaming across the border after President Bashar al-Assad began shelling his own people.

The families, who had left homes and careers behind, weren’t suffering from exotic diseases, but rather chronic illnesses such as lymphoma, diabetes, and heart disease that they were unable to treat without access to medicines and regular medical care. “One woman said, ‘We lived in a

nice house, we had three bed-rooms,’” Tissell says. “This was a total disruption of what their life had been like.”

Each time she returns to her home in Happy Valley, Oregon, Tissell arrives with photos and memories of the families she has helped. Mo-tivated by a strong sense of divine purpose, Tissell says she is perennially awe-struck by the gratitude expressed by people who have just lost ev-erything—and in many cases, everyone. She says she’ll never forget a Congolese woman she met in Uganda whose hus-band had just been shot dur-ing an outbreak of violence in their native country. When she asked the woman if she thought God had abandoned her, the woman turned to her and said, “Of course He hasn’t. Otherwise you wouldn’t have made it here.”

Archana Pyati lives in Silver

Spring, Maryland, and writes

frequently on health and science

topics.

Tim Harrison, RN, MPH, on one of his many trips to South Sudan to work

on an MSF project treating kala azar

When she asked the woman if she thought God had abandoned her, the woman turned to her and said, “Of course He hasn’t. Otherwise you wouldn’t have made it here.”


Second Opinion

Keeping an Open Mind: My Brief Career as a Certified Home Health Agency Registered NurseBY BRANDON ARCHER, RN, BSN

“Keep ing an open mind” is probably one of the most clichéd expressions within the English lexicon. Yet, when I placed that phrase into action, it sparked my nursing career. I hope that my message will allow others, especially new graduate, millennial registered nurses like myself, to consider a growing yet still relatively small aspect of nursing: home care/v is i t ing nursing.

Like countless other children and teenag-ers, I had many differ-ent career aspirations.

However, in retrospect, my becoming a RN is not an extreme surprise. Being the son of Afro-Trinidadian im-migrants and growing up in the predominately African American/Caribbean neigh-borhoods of Central Brook-lyn in New York City, I had decent exposure to the health care industry. While it is a generalization, it is common to see many Afro-Caribbeans (e.g., Haitians, Jamaicans, and Trinidadians) in New York City working within health care, ranging from nursing assistants to LPNs, RNs, and so forth. With that assertion, I indeed have fam-


Second Opinion

ily members and friends of my parents who are active in these occupations.

After I finished high school, I did more research on health

careers, specifically nursing. Of course, I was not igno-rant of the fact that nursing is a profession dominated by women and that, unfortu-nately, there are myths and stereotypes about men who enter into the profession. Be-ing a man, especially a young African American man, I knew that I was not the im-age that most people would think of in regards to being a nurse. Nevertheless, I kept an open mind. I enrolled at New York City College of Technol-ogy in Brooklyn, and I was eventually accepted into the nursing program.

Without a doubt, nursing school was the hardest aca-demic endeavor that I have experienced thus far in my life. It took me time to adjust from a standard memoriza-tion model of learning to the analytical and critical-think-ing process that is the essence of nursing school. There were times when I wondered if I could ever get that cognitive skill. Of course, despite the fact that I was in school, the process of life still went on. From my anxieties about my future to dealing with illness and death in my family (two of my relatives passed away in roughly a three-month span), nursing school was not easy for me. However, with per-severance, I graduated with

my associate’s degree in nursing in January 2011 and passed the NCLEX later that year. I returned to New York City College of Technology

to complete the RN-to-BSN program and received my BSN in 2013.

Despite holding my BSN degree, I still found it chal-lenging to find employment with the hospitals in New York City. While I obviously had the degree requirement, I lacked the RN experience that was specified for a majority of the jobs. Also, by speaking with some of my colleagues who were also having issues with nursing employment, I knew that I was not suffer-ing from random bad luck. There were indeed structural issues—things beyond my control—that were affect-ing the nursing job market. While I was never depressed during this time, it did hurt

to some extent to have a vi-able degree yet no tangible evidence (e.g., a nursing job) to show for it.

To quote the late R&B sing-er Marvin Gaye, I “heard it through the grapevine” from some of my colleagues about visiting nursing with a certified home health agency (CHHA).

While it is true that some home health organizations want an experienced nurse (hospital or otherwise), I heard that some organizations were willing to take new graduates and train them as needed for their nurs-ing duties. Even though the thought of going into clients’ homes did not seem overly ap-pealing, given my limited em-ployment options, I once again kept an open mind and did my research. I found organizations within my district of New York City that were willing to take recent graduates.

Currently, I work with three different CHHAs (ValuCare, PellaCare, and The Royal Care) that are based in Brook-lyn. The crux of my duties as a CHHA RN includes making a full physical assessment of the client, inspecting their home environment, and viewing their active medica-tions for compliance and side effects. In addition to those tasks, I contact their respec-tive physicians to get perti-nent data and give current information. Then, I craft a care plan for the home health aide to follow to assist cli-

ents with their needs, from helping them with activities of daily living to calling the EMT/paramedics for emer-gencies.

Like any subdivision of nursing, there are pros and cons with being a CHHA RN. For cons, you never know what you might encounter

in a client’s home, and being a New Yorker, I do go to some districts that suffer from urban decay. However, the benefits definitely outweigh the nega-tives. I am able to create my own schedule. If you live in a city with a decent mass transit system like my hometown, you can use the bus, subway, or tram instead of a car. And due to New York’s diversity, I get to see clients of all back-grounds. As minority nurses, being in this role allows us to give back to our respective communities by being agents of preventive care and health

advocacy that will hopefully alleviate some of the ailments that afflict minority popula-tions. Finally, with national health care reform, this area of nursing is growing.

Obviously, being a CHHA RN is not for everybody. If you love the hospital, nursing home, or another clinical set-ting, then do what is right for you. Nevertheless, given the somewhat tough job market for new nurses, let life be a lesson as it unfolds and keep an open mind.

Brandon Archer, RN, BSN, gradu-

ated from New York City College

of Technology in 2013 and cur-

rently works as a CHHA RN. He

lives in the New York City borough

of Brooklyn.

Being a man, especially a young African Ameri-can man, I knew that I was not the image that most people would think of in regards to being a nurse.

As minority nurses, being in this role allows us to give back to our respective communities by being agents of preventive care and health advocacy that will hopefully alleviate some of the ailments that af-flict minority populations.

It took me time to adjust from a standard memoriza-tion model of learning to the analytical and critical-thinking process that is the essence of nursing school.


Second Opinion

Nursing and the Table of Brotherhood and SisterhoodBY LATOYA LEWIS, RN, MSN

“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.” These were the astounding words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Unfortunately, this is, in part, still a dream. Sons of former slaves and sons of former slave owners are not sitting together at the table of brotherhood. Rather, sons and daughters of former slaves and former slave owners are hiding underneath a table of institutional inequities, especially in nursing. A great deal of work must be done in order for this dream to come true. However, some of this work must be put into the hands of successful African American nurses, who ought to feel a sense of obligation to motivate and empower other African American nurses and nursing students. There are, indeed, accomplished African American nurses out there, but not enough. Nonetheless, are we holding our younger brothers’ and sisters’ hands as we should be? This can be put into practice with enlightening and enriching high school and college mentorship programs.

According to a 2013 sur-vey conducted by the National Council of State Boards of Nurs-

ing and the National Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers, the RN population is 6% African American. Addi-tionally, data from the Ameri-can Association of Colleges of Nursing’s (AACN) annual survey revealed that 9.6% of students enrolled in bacca-laureate nursing programs in 2013 were African American. At the master’s level, 14.4% were African American; only 14.2% were African American at the doctoral level.

These statistics reveal that not only is there a tremendous shortage of African American nurses in the workforce, but there are not many African Americans being enrolled into nursing programs, despite re-cruitment efforts that have been put forth. This is prob-lematic when considering the

population of patients; the nursing workforce is not re-flective of the changing and diverse demographics of the United States population. Mentorship programs can help to increase enrollment rates, help the African Ameri-can nursing shortage, and help with the deliverance of cultur-ally competent nursing care.

There are several recruit-ment programs for potential African American nurses, but is this enough? For example, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) joined with the AACN in 2008 to launch the RWJF New Ca-reers in Nursing scholar-ship program. The program is designed to alleviate the nation’s nursing shortage by

dramatically expanding the pipeline of students from mi-nority backgrounds in accel-erated nursing programs. In January 2010, the AACN pub-lished a set of expectations for nurses completing graduate programs and created faculty resources needed to develop nursing expertise in cultural competency. Several scholar-

Mentorship programs can help to increase en-rollment rates, help the African American nurs-ing shortage, and help with the deliverance of culturally competent nursing care.

The author (right) and her mentee, NiaMarie Jackson


Second Opinion

ships for African American nurses are also available. Ad-ditionally, the RWJF initiated the Doctoral Advancement in Nursing project in 2013 to enhance the number of

minority nurses completing PhD and DNP degrees.

During my years at the University of Connecticut (UConn), I was awarded mul-tiple scholarships, including the Yale Minority Nursing Scholarship, the Husky Nurse Scholarship, and the Chi Eta Phi Scholarship. All of these scholarships in my recollec-tion were awarded to me be-cause of merit and because I was from a minority back-ground. What about mentor-ship programs? Why weren’t these offered to me?

As I reflect on my own un-dergraduate experience, I re-member being very grateful for the scholarship funds. But I also remember being unpre-pared for the culture shock that I was about to face at the UConn campus in Storrs, Connecticut. Current litera-ture highlights the fact that African American students in predominantly white institu-tions find it difficult to reach a level of comfort and accep-tance within the new cultural environments. Students have reported feeling underrepre-sented, which results in feel-ings of loneliness, isolation,

and frustration. It has also been noted that

the smaller the number of mi-nority students on campus, the greater the problems be-cause of limited social con-

tacts. Out of my class of over 100 students, approximate-ly 10 of these students were from minority backgrounds. Though feeling extremely proud and esteemed for be-coming a graduate of the UConn School of Nursing, I would have been even more grateful to have a successful African American mentor who consistently told me, “You got this!” Self-empowerment and motivation can only go so far. What about those students and new nurses who require a pat on the back from the hand of a “brotha or sista” who truly understands and has “been there and done that”?

A few months ago, I was asked to become a mentor for an African American high school student, NiaMarie Jack-son, who was inspired to be-come a nurse while dealing with her mother’s lifelong diag-nosis of HIV. Our mentorship experience has been focused on effective nurse-patient re-lationships. She revealed to me that she had been included in a trial to test the efficacy of drugs that would decrease the likelihood of vertical transmis-sion. Her childhood consisted

of multiple visits to doctors and nurses who all deeply im-pacted her life and led her in the direction of becoming an aspiring nurse.

We developed a wonderful rapport. The very first meet-ing consisted of an emotional, heartfelt sharing of experi-ences. It felt as though I had known this ambitious young lady for more than an hour. She reminded me of myself when I was younger. Just as I had done, she participated in many programs and was doing very well academical-ly. I found myself becoming frequently concerned as her mentor. I often questioned her about her college appli-cation process. If I had not heard from her in a few days, I became worried.

She is currently doing ex-ceptionally well and has been accepted to Winston-Salem State University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Here,

she will pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing. According to NiaMarie, the mentorship experience not only “reassured me that I wanted to become a nurse, but I gained a new outlook on life and how to deal with different people in different situations.”

Every nurse from a minority background should be able to experience this. There is noth-ing more gratifying than know-ing you have helped a mem-

ber from an underrepresented group become successful while contributing to the diversity of today’s workforce. My mentee knows that I am only a phone call, e-mail, or text away as a source of support.

Mentorship should be con-sidered as the main vehicle for African American nursing suc-cess. It allows African Ameri-can nurses to connect on a level of cultural familiarity. It is easier for the student to say, “If he or she can do it, then I can do it too.” I can hap-pily say that I am a witness to this. Dr. Martin Luther King’s wishes may still be a dream; however, it is not an impos-sible dream. His efforts need to continue with the African American nurses who are suc-cessful. We need to feel a sense of obligation to help others from minority backgrounds with their accomplishments. When this happens, there may be a possibility of sons and

daughters of former slaves and former slave owners sitting together at a table of brother-hood and sisterhood.

Latoya Lewis, RN, MSN, is em-

ployed at the University of Con-

necticut Health Center in Farm-

ington, CT as a medical surgical

nurse. While obtaining her mas-

ter’s degree in nursing education,

she has developed a passion in

reaching out educationally to un-

derrepresented populations.

There is nothing more gratifying than knowing you have helped a member from an underrepresented group become successful while contributing to the diversity of today’s workforce.

Though feeling extremely proud and esteemed for becoming a graduate of the UConn School of Nursing, I would have been even more grateful to have a successful African American mentor who consistently told me, “You got this!”


Degrees of Success

An Effective Teaching Method: Double TestingBY ANNIE M. CLAVON, ARNP, PhD, MS, CCRC

Current literature reminds us that active learning helps promote critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Active learning requires that students be engaged through more than listening, reading, writing, and discussion.

Research has significant-ly proven the opposi-tion amid adult and child learning styles.

Established on the research that adults do not learn in the same style as children, it is practical to accept that one

cannot teach adults employ-ing methods developed and planned to facilitate the learn-ing experience of children. Malcolm Knowles, a pioneer in the field of adult learning, hypothesized some assump-tions to assist teachers with

teaching children and adults. These assumptions include:

The Need to Know. Adult learners need to know why they need to learn something before undertaking to learn it.

Learner Self-Concept. Adults need to be responsible for their own decisions and to be treated as capable of self-direction.

The Role of Learners’ Expe-rience. Adult learners have a variety of life experiences that represent the richest resource for learning. These experiences

are, however, imbued with bias and presupposition.

Readiness to Learn. Adults are ready to learn those things they need to know in order to cope effectively with life situations.

Orientation to Learning. Adults are motivated to learn to the extent that they per-ceive that it will help them perform tasks they confront in their life situations.

The reason most adults en-ter any learning experience is to create change. This could


Degrees of Success

encompass a change in their skills, behavior, knowledge level, or even their attitudes about things. In a 2006 ar-ticle published in the journal Urologic Nursing, Sally Russell suggested that, compared to school-age children, the major variances in adult learners are in the degree of enthusiasm, the extent of earlier experi-ence, the level of engagement, and how the learning is ap-plied. Double testing allows the adult student to be en-gaged in the learning process.

Students need support and validation from their peers. In any classroom, evaluation is necessary. In 2012, the National League for Nursing suggested in its fair testing guidelines that tests and other evaluative mea-sures should be used “not only to evaluate students’ achieve-ments, but, as importantly, to support student learning, im-prove teaching, and guide pro-gram improvements.” Double testing is one such teaching method in which evaluation, peer support, and validation can be instituted to support student learning.

Instructors who teach in higher education can no lon-ger rely on lecturing as their

main teaching method. In Teaching in Nursing: A Guide for Faculty, scholars Diane Billings and Judith Halstead emphasize that dependence on the use of the lecture is no longer an accepted teaching technique. Instead, faculty must integrate

the use of technology so that students will be more actively involved and engaged in the learning process. Also, faculty must focus more on teaching in a learner-centered fashion, as opposed to the teacher-cen-ter approach.

Double testing has been proven to be an effective teaching method. A 2013 study published in Nursing Education Perspectives found that learning, communica-tion, and collaboration were prevalent themes in students’ perceptions and opinions of double testing. According to the researchers, the study found that “a majority of stu-dents preferred double testing and indicated that this testing method had more advantages than disadvantages.”

Throughout nursing pro-grams, instructors are respon-sible for assessing students’ abilities and assuring they are competent to practice nurs-ing. Since one of the nursing instructor’s goals is to prepare students to be safe and com-petent nurses, I believe that collaborative learning, such as double testing, is an excel-lent strategy to assist students in being able to successfully

care for patients. I have used this teaching method for more than two years with senior two-year nursing students and have found that double test-ing promotes group interac-tion, interpersonal skills, and interdependence among the

nursing students—qualities needed to work with members of any health care team.

In using the double-testing method, I have also found that students are more en-gaged and more cooperative; they also exhibit improved critical thinking skills. For ex-ample, when double-testing scores were compared over a six-month period, students’ overall grades increased from 69% to 82%. Indeed, a system-atic review conducted by The Campbell Collaboration con-firms that the benefits of col-laborative testing “include—but are not limited to—better critical thinking skills, better collaboration and team work among peers, reduced test anx-iety, and improved test taking performance.”

In a 2011 study published in Science, Deslauriers, Schelew, and Wieman compared the amount of learning students experienced when taught—in three hours over one week—by traditional lecture and by us-ing interactive activities based on research in cognitive psy-chology and physics educa-tion. The researchers found that students in the interactive class were more involved and absorbed more than twice the learning than their colleagues in the traditional class.

Twenty-first century stu-dents should be allowed some control over their learning. For many years, teacher-centered instruction has been domi-

nant in higher education. In a traditional classroom, students become passive learners or just

receivers of teachers’ infor-mation; whereas, with double testing, the students make the decision whether or not to participate. This way, students take charge of their own learn-ing and are openly involved in the learning process.

In “Helping Students Get to Where Ideas Can Find Them,” an article published in 2009 in The New Educator, Eleanor Duckworth asserts that teach-er-centered learning actually hinders students’ learning. In contrast, double testing is a learner-centered teaching method, which focuses on how students learn instead of how teachers teach.

I believe that double testing is a worthy teaching method that instructors can use in the classroom to enhance student-student and student-teacher interactions. Most educators understand that learners have different pref-erences and styles of learning and believe that it is essential to use teaching methods and approaches that will satisfy the variety of learning styles in the learning event.

Annie M. Clavon, ARNP, PhD, MS,

CCRC, is an associate nursing

professor at Keiser University in

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

In a traditional classroom, students become passive learners or just receivers of teachers’ information; whereas, with double testing, the students make the decision whether or not to participate.

The reason most adults enter any learning experi-ence is to create change. This could encompass a change in their skills, behavior, knowledge level, or even their attitudes about things.

The country is changing, with one-third of the population represent-ing a historical “minority.” In this increasingly diverse world, you can confidently say your workplace actively fosters diversity, inclusiveness, and cooperation. For these reasons and others, you’re proud to be a part of it—and we want to hear from you.

Minority Nurse is looking for nominations for health care’s diversity MVPs, from the magnet hospitals to nursing schools to local hospice care centers. Nurses can nominate their workplaces based on the facility’s efforts to improve and maintain inclusiveness and diversity.

Think about what makes for a diverse institution. What does a “commitment to diversity” mean? And what does it mean to you? At Minority Nurse, it’s not just about a visible variety of skin tones seen in the halls. It’s . . .

• Faculty and staff recruitment and retention efforts aimed at underrepresented populations

• Collaborative hiring practices• Diversity initiatives and accessible organizations on site• Cultural competency training and resources,

such as diverse foods, translators, etc.• Partnerships with other diversity organizations• And so much more

When hiring groups devoted to minority recruitment and retention not only exist, but are consistently used, it shows a commitment to diversity. When hospital administrators take the time to include their nursing staff in development, they exhibit a commitment to diversity. And you, in taking the time to recognize your workplace for its com-mendable practices and diverse work environment, are showing a commitment to diversity as well.

It’s not necessarily a numbers game—we don’t require applicants to produce statistics or quotas, though you are welcome to do so if you wish. We’re simply looking for readers who take pride in their workplaces’ commitment to diversity.

A PDF of the Take Pride Campaign application is also available on our website, www.minoritynurse.com. Applications must be received before July 1, 2015. We will then reach out to our nominees to deter-mine our winners!

Questions? Let us know by e-mailing [email protected].

The TAKE PRIDE Campaign

The country is changing, with one-third of the population represent-ing a historical “minority.” In this increasingly diverse world, you can confidently say your workplace actively fosters diversity, inclusiveness, and cooperation. For these reasons and others, you’re proud to be a part of it—and we want to hear from you.

Minority Nurse is looking for nominations for health care’s diversity MVPs, from the magnet hospitals to nursing schools to local hospice care centers. Nurses can nominate their workplaces based on the facility’s efforts to improve and maintain inclusiveness and diversity.

Think about what makes for a diverse institution. What does a “commitment to diversity” mean? And what does it mean to you? At Minority Nurse, it’s not just about a visible variety of skin tones seen in the halls. It’s . . .

• Faculty and staff recruitment and retention efforts Faculty and staff recruitment and retention efforts Facultyaimed at underrepresented populations

• Collaborative hiring practices• Diversity initiatives and accessible organizations on site• Cultural competency training and resources,

such as diverse foods, translators, etc.• Partnerships with other diversity organizations• And so much more

When hiring groups devoted to minority recruitment and retention not only exist, but are consistently used, it shows a commitment to diversity. When hospital administrators take the time to include their nursing staff in development, they exhibit a commitment to diversity. And you, in taking the time to recognize your workplace for its com-mendable practices and diverse work environment, are showing a commitment to diversity as well.

It’s not necessarily a numbers game—we don’t require applicants to produce statistics or quotas, though you are welcome to do so if you wish. We’re simply looking for readers who take pride in their workplaces’ commitment to diversity.

A PDF of the Take Pride Campaign application is also available on our website, www.minoritynurse.com. Applications must be received before July 1, 2015. We will then reach out to our nominees to deter-before July 1, 2015. We will then reach out to our nominees to deter-before July 1, 2015. We will then reach out to our nominees to determine our winners!

Questions? Let us know by e-mailing [email protected].

The Take Pride Campaign

Application Form(Please print clearly. All fields required. The 250–500-word nomination can be attached separately.)

Your name__________________________________________________________________________________________Your place of employment (must be a health care facility or institution employing nurses*) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Location of facility___________________________________________________________________________________How long have you worked at/for this facility? _________________________________________________________Preferred e-mail_____________________________________________________________________________________Preferred phone number _____________________________________________________________________________

In 250–500 words describe why you are nominating this facility—what makes it a model of diversity and inclusivity? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MINORITY NURSE2015 Take Pride Campaign Application

* All nominees must be health care–related workplaces that employ nurses, such as hospitals, nursing schools, nursing homes, hospice facilities, etc. Those work environments falling into nontraditional territories will be considered according to the discretion of the editors, staff members, and advisors of Minority Nurse.


In the Spotlight

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MINORITYNURSE.COM

SPECIAL EDITION: Meet Our Scholarship WinnersFirst-Prize Winner, Christal Leitch

Christal Leitch found out fi rsthand that the biggest sur-prises often come when your mind is focused elsewhere. “I was so surprised,” she says, laughing, noting that she al-most didn’t open the e-mail notifying her of her win right away.

Leitch, who begins her nursing school studies at the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing at Mercer University this fall, came to nursing in a roundabout way. “My mom is a nurse,” she says, “but that was never one of my things. I wanted to work in an offi ce 9 to 5.”

In 2006, Leitch realized she wanted to change careers. Her ill mother-in-law came to stay, and Leitch nursed her

and cared for her. “It was so rewarding,” says Leitch. “I thought, ‘This is what I want to do.’”

Leitch immigrated to the United States from Trinidad and Tobago Islands in the 1980s and says her primary goal was to earn a college de-gree and return back home. But being unfamiliar with the accreditation process in the United States led her to get a degree in offi ce technology in 1996 from a school that had state, but not national, accreditation.

By the time nursing came on her radar, Leitch had al-ready started a family and worked for a variety of For-tune 500 companies. But, she says, something was missing

from her career, and she now realizes it was a mismatch be-tween her interests and her job. “I am naturally a very caring person, and I didn’t realize that that’s where I’m most comfortable.”

In 2009, when she decided to return to school for a nurs-ing degree, she had to begin taking her prerequisite classes all over again. But on the same day she started classes, she also started a job as a medical assistant for a group of vascu-lar surgeons, and she knew she was on the right path.

In earning her prerequisite classes for nursing, Leitch qualifi ed for a bachelor’s in psychology, which she earned last May. Nursing school will be challenging, but Leitch is excited. She’s confi dent that her journey will be smoothed by her strong support system of family and friends.

“My focus will be on trying to keep patients comfortable and giving patients someone to lean on and to hold their hands,” says Leitch. “I want them to know ‘I’m here and you don’t have to be alone.’”

Leitch says in those particu-larly stressful times, a nurse is essential. “In times of dis-tress, I want them to know

someone is there to comfort them,” she says.

Leitch envisions a career as a certifi ed nurse-midwife or a certifi ed registered nurse anes-thetist, although she realizes that could change. Noting that each stage of nursing school could reveal something that is a calling, she is especially looking forward to the labor and delivery training.

Eventually, she would like to work for an organization like Doctors Without Borders. “It’s one of the fi rst things I’ll do when I get my degree,” she says. “I am so ready to sign up.”

Despite coming to nursing a little later than most, Leitch is comfortable knowing she is fi nally where she belongs. “When my aunt heard I was going to nursing school, she said, ‘It’s about time,’” Leitch says laughing. “I just never thought about it, and then it just dawned on me.”

Although her journey to nursing is long, Leitch says she lives and models what she tells her sons—failure is not an option. “Your hard work will pay off in the end,” she says. “Nothing comes easy, but at the end of the day, no one can take your education away from you.”


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Runner-up, Karachi Egbuta

From a young age, Karachi Egbuta knew she wanted to be involved in health care. A bachelor’s degree in biology led her to different health care jobs after graduation, but it was see-ing the interactions between nurses and patients at various jobs and volunteer positions that convinced her nursing was the career choice for her.

“Nurses interacted with pa-tients from start to end,” says Egbuta, a student at Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, New York. “I saw how caring nurses are, how they comforted patients, and how they would advocate for their patients.” And seeing patients put so much faith and trust in the nurses—confi ding in them in ways they might not with their physicians—impressed Egbuta.

“I just watched that, and I knew I wanted to do nursing,” she says. Her husband, an OB/GYN resident, opened her eyes to actually making a career out of nursing and encouraged her to follow that path.

Egbuta’s varied health care experience, through work, vol-

unteerism, or her own travels, have all given her a global un-derstanding of health care’s pressing and vast issues. She spent two years as a public health advocate with the Jacobi Medical Center researching and testing patients for HIV, and she continues to volunteer in an ER department where she sees all kinds of health care needs and situations. Her work impressed upon her the importance of patients’ health care educa-tion and information. Her own travels to visit family in Nigeria gave her insight into the dis-crepancies of global health care and fueled her passion to help others. “They talked about the

hunger and the struggles, and it makes you realize everything you have here,” she says. “It’s all those little things they need that we have access to here.”

Egbuta, who expects to earn her nursing degree in May 2015, knew going back to school wasn’t going to be easy for her. She says she struggled getting her fi rst degree, so she knew another degree would re-quire all her focus, but she was pulled by nursing’s appeal.

“The beauty of nursing is that you can do anything,” says Egbuta. “I love that be-cause I like a little bit of ev-erything.” And with an infant daughter, she says nursing’s

fl exibility will help her man-age work and family.

Egbuta already knows the challenges of trying to manage family and work. Her daughter was born during the toughest semester of nursing school yet. With the help of family, sup-port from faculty, and a razor-sharp focus to fi nish nursing school, Egbuta had her baby on a Thursday and was back in class on Monday.

As a student, Egbuta sees that nursing is a challenging profession despite its rewards. “There’s lots that will test you in nursing,” she says. “The hardest is dealing with differ-ent patients’ moods. You want


In the Spotlight

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MINORITYNURSE.COM

to do everything you can to make them happy.”

Egbuta finds compassion for their situation helps: “You have to put yourself in their shoes. No one wants to be in the hospital. They are just un-comfortable. So you have to be comforting to them even when

they are in a bad mood.”Egbuta plans to start in a

medical-surgical unit upon graduation so she can get broad experience. “You learn about everything that has to do with medical conditions,” she says. And with dermatology and skin conditions being one of Egbu-

ta’s top interests, she is likely to see patients with a range of skin issues. “Skin is the fi rst barrier,” Egbuta explains.

Eventually, Egbuta can see furthering her education to be-come a family nurse practitio-ner, but until then she wants to just be the best nurse she can be.

“A lot of people know nurs-ing is the hardest undergrad and a lot of people don’t make it,” Egbuta says. “I always say, ‘If I can do it, anyone can do it.’ You have to put in the time. It’s very intense, but they are trying to prepare you to be the best nurse you can be.”

Runner-up, Yvonne Shih

Yvonne Shih took a huge leap of faith when she moved from California to Boston to attend the Boston College (BC) William F. Connell School of Nursing. Tough as it was to leave family and friends be-hind in the area where she spent her whole life, Shih knew the move was going to bring her closer to her goal of be-coming a nurse. “It’s not about seeing problems or obstacles but to just look ahead,” she explains.

Pursing a nursing career wasn’t something Shih even considered until her freshman year of high school. When a family member had health is-sues, a visiting nurse made a last-ing impression when she simply said to Shih, “Maybe you should think about nursing.”

“I didn’t know it was even an option until she said it,” says

Shih, who expects to gradu-ate in May 2015. But, she says, her own personality traits of enjoying taking care of people and making others comfortable might have tipped her off.

“I defi nitely like the idea of being able to help people for the rest of my life,” Shih says. Making patients feel comfort-able in an unfamiliar setting or situation that isn’t always easy appeals to her. And the variability of a nursing career, one where you can care for patients at their bedside in a hospital setting or out in the community, is something that she fi nds compelling. Events like school shootings or the Boston Marathon bombings, which happened so close to BC, have helped shape Shih’s future course. She is interested especially in psychiatric nurs-ing. “With the school shoot-ings, you can see how impor-tant being a psych nurse is and how it can benefi t the com-munity,” she says.

Despite the enormous time challenges of any nursing stu-dent, Shih fi ts in even more nursing-related activities out-side the classroom. She is the

president of the Massachusetts Student Nurses Association; she is a group leader at the Cor-nerstone Church of Boston; and she represents BC in sev-eral networking and leadership events. Of everything, Shih fi nds her own internal expecta-tions to be the most daunting: “It’s just tough being hard on yourself, and making sure you are on top of everything and presenting yourself well. It’s hard to maintain a balance of everything.”

Shih fi nds incredible support in her family, friends, school, and her faith. And, she says, even pressure beyond just the typical school worries show her just a taste of what life after college might hold. But she has had incredible mentoring experiences working with BC faculty on an advanced study grant for her research on nurse staffi ng ratios in California and Massachusetts and a fellowship for an NIH-funded study on sleep apnea.

Although she says people might fi rst notice her skin color or her features, being a minority isn’t a disadvantage as a nurse, even if some people

might still believe that, she says. She would like to em-power other minority nursing students to see their strengths. At BC, she has even led a fac-ulty and student discussion on racism at the BC Connell School of Nursing Diversity Advisory Board Stand Against Racism event.

Shih believes in meeting others and being brave or bold enough to just ask people for help. When she fi rst arrived at BC and wanted to fi nd out how to combine studying nurs-ing with the economics and business of health care, she simply asked a dean about it. The dean, in turn, put her in touch with several faculty who had the expertise she needed.

With one more year to go, Shih is thankful to her family and her school for the support they have given her. She fol-lows the advice she would give to any nursing student who is trying to make a mark and to fi nd others to guide them along their journey.

“You might not instantly click with everyone,” she says. “But don’t feel discouraged. And don’t ever give up.”


Highlights from the Blog

Newsletter

MINORITYNURSE.COM

4 Reasons Why You Have to Make Time to Network

Lots of professionals say they just don’t have time to network. With busy schedules, having a membership in a couple of professional organizations is about as far as they get.

Managing Job-Related Stress

Your job-related stress can affect your patients, colleagues, and loved ones, so getting it under control should be a high priority. The �rst step is to admit to being stressed. If you �nd yourself dreading going to work, ask yourself: How well am I managing my stress?

How to Land an Internal Job Opening

Have you been working for a company awhile but would like to move up the ladder or on to another unit? Career changers can often �nd opportunities within their current company instead of having to start afresh.

Don’t Risk Becoming a Casualty of the Keyboard

Repetitive stress injuries (RSIs), such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis, are common in the health care workplace. Though not life-threatening, RSIs are a painful and potentially disabling health hazard.

To read more, visit www.minoritynurse.com/blog.


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The world needs more nurses. With that comes the need for experienced, dedicated nursing faculty to train them.

There is a true shortage of nursing educators—par-ticularly minority nursing professors, who comprise a small percentage of nursing faculty overall. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing says the scarcity of professors may actually be stunting the growth of nursing programs. To counter this, nursing schools are improving the pay for nursing school faculty to increase their numbers, especially those who hold a doctorate.

This section of Minority Nurse is dedicated to open faculty positions from nursing schools all over the country. Requirements vary, but all are sure to lead to exciting, rewarding careers in nursing education and research.



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online.aurora.edu/minoritynurse | 888-688-1147 Passion. Intellect. Honesty. Drive.

Nursing programs also are offered on the Aurora and Woodstock, Illinois and Williams Bay, Wisconsin campuses as well as in on-site cohorts throughout Illinois.

Tenure-track positions are available at all ranks. Excellent opportunities exist for leadership, clinical and professional development, and student-faculty collaborative research. Priority areas of expertise sought: Nurse Practitioner (NP): Gerontology, Adult-Gerontology, Adult, or Family Primary Care with certification and prescriptive authority; Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS): Gerontology or Adult/Gerontology with certifi-

cation; NP or CNS: Psychiatric/Mental Health with certification. Applicants with other clinical practice and or scholarship expertise may be considered depending on departmental need. For a complete list of

qualifications and to apply, please visit our website at http://www.uwec.edu/Employment/NursingFacultyF-648.htm.

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is an EEO/AA institution.



As you are probably aware, the de-mand for nurses continues to sky-rocket. What you may not know is

that there’s also a critical need for nurses with advanced degrees, as hospitals turn to nurses to � ll more administrative and leadership roles.

Nursing schools around the country are jumping at the chance to � ll this void by of-fering � exible Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice programs, and you’ll � nd many great examples in the following pages.

There truly has never been a better time to pursue an advanced nursing degree. Be sure to secure your spot in the program—and your � nancial aid—by applying early.

SCHOOL of NURSING &HEALTH STUDIESMIAMI

www.miami.edu/SONHS

The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree represents an important advancement in the evolution of the nursing profession. It is a practice-focused doctoral degree that prepares nurses to create, administer and evaluate practice interventions to reduce health care disparities. The DNP curriculum is offered in a hybrid format that blends online components and one long weekend of face-to-face class interaction twice a semester.

The BSN-DNP Nurse Anesthesia degree program targets bachelor’s-level prepared nurses with or without a master’s degree. Program highlights include small class sizes, low instructor to student ratios, challenging academics, world class campus facilities, and superior simulation and clinical experiences. Over 250 community partners provide excellent opportunities for clinical exposure to diverse patient populations across a range of practice settings.

To learn more, please visit us online or contact us:miami.edu/sonhs [email protected] 305-284-4325

BSN-DNP Nurse Anesthesia Program First of its kind in Florida

DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE (DNP)Prepare for a leadership role in the nursing profession

Application Deadline: October 1, 2014

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVELEARN YOUR DOCTORAL DEGREE AT THE

SETTING THE STANDARD OF EXCELLENCEIN HEALTH CARE EDUCATION

HIG

HE

R L

EA

RN

ING{ NURSING } at Roberts

If you’re a working Registered Nurse seeking an online Bachelor’s or Master’s degree that will �t your busy schedule, welcome to

Bachelor’s degree in 15 months (ONLINE)• RN to BS Completion Program

Master’s degrees in 20 months (ONLINE)• Nursing Education, M.S.• Nursing Leadership & Administration, M.S.

Online starts: October, March & April.www.roberts.edu/nursing-degrees

Online starts: October, March & April.www.roberts.edu/nursing-degrees

Pursue your passion.Change lives.


Faculty Opportunities

Index of Advertisers

ADVERTISER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PAGE #

AACN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4

Children’s National Medical Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Civilian Corps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

University of Connecticut Health Center. . . . . . . . . . . . 13

WellPoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES

Aurora University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing . . . . . . . . 53

Roberts Wesleyan College. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

University of California, Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

University of Miami School of Nursing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

University of Wisconsin Eau Claire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

FACULTY OPPORTUNITIES

Washington State University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

TENURED/TENURE- TRACK FACULTY POSITIONS

Washington State University College of Nursing, Spokane, Washington, is seeking exceptional faculty applicants to contribute to our established research strengths in community engaged approaches; rural health; American Indian and Hispanic community partnerships; care transitions; injury prevention in children; drug and alcohol abuse; suicidology; and multiple methods research. Tenure-track/tenured positions are located in Spokane, Washington at the rank of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Full Professor. The College provides high quality and accessible education to Baccalaureate, Master’s, and Doctoral students. Salary, rank, and tenure status are dependent upon experience and qualifi cations.

To apply visit www.wsujobs.com.

The online application requires: 1) a cover letter discussing education and experience as related to the required and desired qualifi cations 2) curriculum vitae 3) names and contact information for four professional references.

Positions will remain open until suitable candidates are identifi ed. Review of applications will begin September 4, 2014 and continue until suitable candidates are identifi ed or until March 15, 2015. Position start dates are January 1, 2015 or August 16, 2015. This posting may be used to fi ll multiple positions.

WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY IS AN EEO/AA/ADA EDUCATOR AND EMPLOYER.

nursing.wsu.edu

JOB: ADC-UCF-M910001BDOCUMENT NAME: 3B71917_ADC_b3.1_sc.indd

DESCRIPTION: Rachel: ReturnsBLEED: None

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PUBLICATION: UNCF PSA ADART DIRECTOR: Alan Vladusic 8-4572COPYWRITER: Bruce Jacobson 8-3119ACCT. MGR.: Sarah Blechner 8-4490

ART PRODUCER: Veronica Reo 8-3459PRINT PROD.: Tom Stocks 8-3941

PROJ. MNGR.: Linda Holmes 8-4121This advertisement prepared by Young & Rubicam, N.Y.

3B71917_ADC_b3.1_sc.indd

CLIENT: Advertising Council, Inc. TMG #: 3B71917 HANDLE #: 8 JOB #: ADC-UCF-M910001B BILLING#: ADC-UCF-Y91597DOCUMENT NAME: 3B71917_ADC_b3.1_sc.indd PAGE COUNT: 1 of 1 PRINT SCALE: 100% INDESIGN VERSION: CS5STUDIO ARTIST: Sc LAST SAVE DATE: 4-29-2013 4:33 PM CREATOR: dockeryk CREATION DATE: 4-16-2013 6:43 PM

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T:7.875"

T:10.5"

EARLY RETURNS ARE PROMISING.Introducing Better FuturesTM—a whole new kind of investment with a greater return than money. When you invest,it helps kids go to college. Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste but a wonderful thing to invest in.TM

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Minority Nurse is a must-read!

Each issue comes to you packed with in-depth articles that cover hot topics in nursing care, minority health, and nursing education and career development.

Only in Minority Nurse will you fi nd these original columns:

• Academic Forum—research on issues with a direct impact on nurses as well as minority communities.

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• Addresses a high-impact critical care nursing topic

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Ideal for groups of nurses as well as individuals, each live 30-minute webinar:

Watch AACN’s CriticalCare eNewsline for upcoming topics and datesPreviously recorded webcasts are available 24/7 for on-demand viewing.

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Ideal for groups of nurses as well as individuals, each live 30-minute webinar:

minority nurse magazine (fall 2014)

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