---

E-mail to a friend | Print This | Select Text Size:

When Eileen Sporing, RN, MSN, CNO of Children's Hospital Boston (CHB), was searching for ways to improve the care of patients from diverse backgrounds, she asked herself, "Why not tap into our own multicultural nurses for some answers?" Soon afterward, CHB's Multicultural Nurses Forum was born. From the time of the first meeting in fall 2007, Sporing realized that developing the forum was a good idea. "I walked into a room full of nurses from many different races, countries, and backgrounds," she recalls, "and I knew it was a new day at our hospital. It was clear that the nurses' energy and enthusiasm in support of diversity and culturally appropriate care would only bring positive changes."

Since its creation, the forum has dedicated itself to educating staff and facilitating dialogue about workforce diversity and culturally appropriate care. "We all have common ground when it comes to the issues that concern us, and we know there is a special way to deliver care to diverse patients," says the forum's leader, staff development specialist Eva Gomez, RN, MSN. "The forum allows us to bring our knowledge to the table and to share it with each other and ultimately with all of our colleagues in the nursing department."

The forum also is proving invaluable to the hospital's efforts to interest non-nursing staff in nursing careers. Nancy Joseph, RN, MSN, FNP-C, a forum member and an NP in CHB's primary care center who is also on the hospital's Recruitment and Retention Committee and the board of the New England Regional Black Nurses Association (NERBNA), notes that the forum is planning an array of activities to attract students and staff from diverse backgrounds to the nursing profession. During the next month, the group plans to launch "Chat and Snack" meetings for clinical assistants, many of whom are persons of color. "We want to be sure that any clinical assistant with an interest in nursing has an opportunity to talk to a nurse from the same background who can offer both information and encouragement," says Joseph.

Retooling recruitment strategies

Like CHB, hospitals around New England are taking steps to attract and maintain a more diverse nursing workforce. At Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) in New Haven, Conn., the nursing department routinely advertises open positions on websites, at job fairs, and in journals that attract nurses from different cultures and backgrounds. And last spring, the hospital hosted a special "get to know New Haven" weekend for senior nursing students from schools with substantial African-American student populations. Three of the 12 students who attended ended up accepting staff nurse positions at YNHH.

Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA), a large public health system in Massachusetts, also works to cultivate interest among nursing students. Linda Battle, RN, APRN, BC, CHA's Manager of Academic Partnerships and Nursing Workforce Development, says she routinely tracks senior nursing students who complete practicums at CHA and makes a point of connecting with those who stand out and are a good fit with the organization's culture. "Last year," says Battle, "we were able to hire two graduate nurses of color this way."

Chief nursing officer Thomas Smith, RN, MS, notes that CHA also works closely with NERBNA. Partnering with NERBNA allows CHA to reach out to African-American nurses and to identify opportunities for encouraging NERBNA members to consider CHA for their nursing practice. In addition to sponsoring some NERBNA meetings and educational forums, CHA encourages and supports African-American nurses on its staff to join the organization. CHA also has nominated several nurses for NERBNA excellence awards.

Supporting nurses in the workplace

But recruiting minority nurses is just one part of the equation for developing a multicultural workforce, says Deb Washington, RN, MS, director of diversity for Patient Care Services at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Just as important is creating an environment that makes them feel welcome and encourages them to stay.

Washington notes that when minority nurses enter the workplace, they face challenges similar to those they encounter in everyday life. These include figuring out how to become a member of the team, finding a group to have coffee with, and dealing with the greater level of scrutiny that comes with being a minority. Fitting in, says Washington, "takes conscious effort and planned action."

At MGH, Washington and other nurse leaders help nurses from different racial and ethnic backgrounds transition to the workplace by pairing each nurse with a preceptor who helps the nurse attain clinical competence, and with a mentor who shares the nurse's background and who can offer support and guidance while focusing on the nurse's personal growth.

In addition to helping with the mentoring program, Washington also conducts cultural rounds on patient units. Besides helping staff address cultural differences in their patients, the rounds help staff appreciate differences that may be present among themselves. They also promote a sense of teamwork that helps staff transcend differences that, under other circumstances, might be divisive.

Leadership roles

Perhaps one of the most potent ways to attract students from diverse backgrounds to nursing, and nurses to hospitals, is to let them meet staff nurses with backgrounds similar to theirs and to see minority nurses in leadership positions.

When a hospital has a diverse leadership team, says Battle, "It tells minority nurses, 'It can be done. You can progress up the professional ladder. You can be successful here.'"

CHB's Sporing agrees with Battle and describes witnessing a surge of interest among Hispanic nurses and students when Gomez joined CHB's Staff Development department. Gomez explains the reason for the increased interest is simple. "Young people are inspired when they see someone who shares their background become a nurse and be successful," she says. "It helps them realize that it can be done and shows them that nursing is an incredibly rewarding profession that will provide opportunities for personal and professional growth throughout a lifetime."

---

Beth Kantz is a freelance writer. To comment, e-mail editorNE@nursingspectrum.com.