Generating a BIPOC Student Pipeline into Minnesota Nursing: Exploring the Influence of Socioformative Career Decision Factors

Abstract

This improvement project was a collaboration with the Center for Nursing Equity and Excellence in Minneapolis Minnesota - a coalition created by the University of Minnesota School of Nursing and Minnesota State University to address the critical nursing shortage in Minnesota and beyond. The research investigated what I termed "socioformative career decision factors" of nursing-related high school career materials and the availability or scarcity of culturally competent nursing role models and mentors to Minnesota youth. The project employed document analysis of high school career materials, quantitative analysis of a novel Likert-type survey administered to high school students, and qualitative analysis of interviews with BIPOC high school students and nursing students within Minnesota. The study found that BIPOC students were less likely to remember or be impacted by high school provided career materials than nursing related courses or live presentations or talks provided at the school. Further, BIPOC students were more likely than White students to prefer role model/mentor engagement with professionals of the same racial, ethnic or cultural backgrounds as themselves but also felt they were able to effectively connect with and learn from culturally or racially heterogeneous role models or mentors.