DISMANTLING BARRIERS TO CREATE SUSTAINABLE CHANGE By: Evelyn Fleider
Ann Gakumo, PhD, RN, has received more than $1 million in grants to diversify the nursing workforce and combat systemic racism in the profession. According to a 2022 report published by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), 80% of the registered nurses in the United States are white or Caucasian, while 88% are women. These numbers are a result of several factors, from the profession’s long-standing failure to include and represent the views and needs of nurses of color to recent data demonstrating systemic racism within the profession. The lack of academic, financial, peer and social support to diverse students, along with low representation of role-modeling faculty of color, have also contributed to the insufficient diversity in nursing. With funding from two grants, Gakumo, who serves as UC College of Nursing’s associate dean for inclusion and community impact, and collaborators will drive forward efforts that recruit and support racially and ethnically Ann Gakumo, PhD, RN diverse undergraduate nursing students at UC and build a learning collaborative that promotes anti-racist academic environments at sites across the country.
Recruiting, retaining and supporting a diverse student body Gakumo’s Systems in Holistic Innovation and Inclusion for Transformation (SHIIFT) program was awarded $750,000 by Genentech’s Health Equity and Diversity in STEM Innovation Fund, which supports projects that contribute to increasing representation of communities of color in clinical research, eliminating inequities in care delivery and dismantling barriers to a diverse, inclusive and anti-racist scientific and health care workforce. With support from UC Nursing Assistant Professor Rosalind Moore, DNP, RN, Gakumo aims to establish a successful model for the recruitment, retention and academic success of racially and ethnically diverse undergraduate nursing students by: • Examining undergraduate admission processes to determine structural barriers to equity; • Admitting a diverse cohort of eight Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students in the 2023 freshman class based on factors other than standardized test scores; • Creating collaborative academic-community partnerships to build capacity for community engagement; and • Developing inclusive learning environments that integrate diversity, social determinants of health and equity throughout the curriculum and in evaluation.
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