Flagship Difference
Diversifying the workforce in nursing INCREASING THE DIVERSITY of Maine’s workforce in nursing is the focus of a more than $1.7 million grant from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration to the University of Maine School of Nursing, in partnership with Northern Light Health and Morgan State University. The four-year award by HRSA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will address the need to increase nursing Place-bound and education opportunities for individuals place-invested from financially disadvantaged and nurses are underrepresented ethnic and racial minorities in Maine, and, ultimately, essential to meet help address the state’s shortage of the long-term nurses. needs of Maine.” A priority of the initiative, Promoting Diversity in Nursing Education, is to capitalize on the social, cultural and Kelley Strout ethnic resources for in-state student diversity, says Kelley Strout, director of the School of Nursing and principal investigator on the initiative that will include firstgeneration college students. Targeted student recruitment in Maine will help ensure that graduating nurses join and remain a part of communities where their skills are most needed, Strout says. Increasing diversity of both students and faculty in the School of Nursing will prepare graduates to meet workforce needs fully. The initiative’s goals align with the mission of the UMaine President’s Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The School of Nursing offers one of the university’s most sought-after degree programs, receiving upward of 1,400 applications for approximately 80 seats available in the fall semesters of the past five years. Nearly half of UMaine nursing students have been from out of state, and many do not remain in Maine after graduation.
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