Grant will help University of Alabama produce more Latino nurses

A $1.7 million grant will help the University of Alabama increase the number of baccalaureate-prepared Latino nurses.

According to a report on the school’s website, The University of Alabama’s Capstone College of Nursing recently received the grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration Nursing Workforce Diversity Program.

The report says the Bama-LatinoProject will target and recruit 80 Latino associate degree registered nurses and prepare them for a Bachelor of Science in nursing via the Capstone College of Nursing’s online RN-BSN mobility program.

“Right now, the RN population is made up of 83 percent white/Caucasian nurses who are caring for a very diverse population,” said Dr. Norma Cuellar, UA professor of nursing and principal investigator in the report. “While we teach our students about cultural sensitivity, we know that many times when people are being cared for by someone who is not like them, there is a barrier that may impact health care outcomes.Sometimes it’s communication, sometimes it’s cultural. Both can pose a problem in delivering health care.”

In recent years, there has been a national push to increase the diversity of the nursing workforce to better reflect the population of the U.S., but there has not been much success with Latino nurses. Latinos make up 17.3 percent of the population, but fewer than five percent of U.S. nurses are Latino, Cuellar said.

The Bama-Latino Project will support Latino nurses by providing scholarships for pre-entry preparation and the RN-BSN bridge program. The program also provides both academic and professional mentorship and support through a collaborative partnership with the National Association of Hispanic Nurses.

For more information call https://www.ua.edu/news/2017/07/1-7-million-grant-to-increase-latino-nurses-with-bachelors-degrees/.

This story was originally published July 9, 2017 at 3:36 PM with the headline "Grant will help University of Alabama produce more Latino nurses."