Being Invisible: Stereotype Threat in an Undergraduate Nursing Program.

Abstract

Nursing programs continue to be challenged to increase recruitment and retention of ethnic minority nursing students to meet the needs of a diversifying population. Ethnic minority students face a cadre of barriers, one of which is the negative implications of their own identity. This article describes a qualitative study that explored the experiences of stereotype threat among a group of ethnic minority nursing students at a large urban university. Semistructured, one-time in-depth interviews were conducted. Three themes emerged: A Sense of Uncertainty About Abilities, Avoidance, and Vigilance for Signs of Failure. Nursing faculty and administrators may better support ethnic minority nursing students through graduation by having an awareness of the implications of stereotype threat. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(3):159-162.].