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School of Nursing Launches Online Database of Minority Nurse Educators
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School of Nursing Launches Online Database of Minority Nurse Educators
Database Available to Nursing Schools Interested in Diversity TRENTON, N.J.(December 8, 2009) —The School of Nursing at Thomas Edison State College has launched a free database of minority nurse educators who have been certified in online teaching that is available to nursing schools across the country interested in increasing diversity at their institutions and hiring the educators as adjunct faculty.The online database, the only one of its kind in the country, includes 52 nurse educators who have each completed the School of Nursing’s online Minority Nurse Educator certification program, which includes a 20-week Certificate in Distance Education Program (CDEP) at Thomas Edison State College and a 12-week mentored online nursing experience at the college under the guidance of an experienced online nurse educator.
“Many nursing schools throughout the country have worked successfully to increase the diversity of their student populations, but there remains a shortage of minority nursing faculty to serve as role models for students,” said Dr. Susan M. O’Brien, dean of the School of Nursing at Thomas Edison State College. “We hope nursing school deans and other administrators find this new database useful in increasing diversity at their institutions and, ultimately, enabling more students to benefit from more culturally diverse educators, which enhances their overall education and improves the care they provide to society.”
The nurse educators currently in the database come from 24 states in the country and include ethnicities such as African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders. Educators in the database have agreed to be shared by various institutions in order to increase diversity at nursing schools nationwide.
The creation of the database is the final requirement of a 2005 grant the School of Nursing received from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to recruit and prepare minority nurse educators in online education and develop a collaborative network of diverse nurse faculty members to enhance nursing programs nationwide. The grant initially called for the college to recruit 45 minority nurse educators during a three-year period and teach them online pedagogical skills. The school recruited and prepared a total of 52 nurse educators in its first three years.
In 2008, HRSA awarded a second grant to the School of Nursing to expand the minority nurse educator program. Each year, the school will add new educators to the database as more complete the program.
In addition to the database, the grant also established an annual lectureship focusing on the importance of diversity in nursing. According to a 2005 study by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), minority representation among nursing faculty in the United States is at approximately 9 percent. Compounding the national nursing shortage crisis is a national shortage of nurse educators. This shortage is the leading reason that thousands of qualified candidates are turned away from nursing schools every year.
O’Brien said the potential impact of the grant is multifold: It will enable more nursing students to have access to minority nurse faculty, especially in remote areas of the country, and help reduce the nurse educator shortage by enabling nurse faculty to extend their tenure in the profession, at least on a part-time basis, after they reach retirement age, she said.
The grants were awarded by HRSA’s Nurse Education Practice and Retention Program, Division of Nursing, Bureau of Health Professions. Eligible nurse educators interested in the program may contact nursing@tesc.edu. The database is accessible at www.tesc.edu/nursingdiversity.
About Thomas Edison State College
Thomas Edison State College provides flexible, high-quality, collegiate learning opportunities for self-directed adults. One of New Jersey’s 12 senior public institutions of higher education, the College offers 15 associate, baccalaureate and master’s degrees in more than 100 areas of study. Students earn degrees through a variety of rigorous academic methods, including completing independent study courses and documenting college-level knowledge they already have acquired. Thomas Edison State College is a national leader in the assessment of adult learning and a pioneer in the use of educational technologies. The College is home to the John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy. The New Jersey State Library is an affiliate of Thomas Edison State College.
About the School of Nursing at Thomas Edison State College
The Nursing Program at Thomas Edison State College was established in 1983 primarily to provide education and career opportunities for RNs in New Jersey who wanted an alternative to campus-based baccalaureate education. The School of Nursing has been continually accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission. The online RN to BSN/MSN program, started in 2002, has more than 800 students from across the United States and approximately 25% of students in the School of Nursing are minorities. Of the over 65 nurse educators utilized by the school, 16% per cent are minorities, and 87% have doctoral degrees.
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