Connecting With Guidance Counselors to Enhance Recruitment Into Nursing of Minority Teens

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to describe the design, implementation, and outcomes of one strategy used to promote careers in nursing among minority high-school-aged teens-namely, a workshop for guidance counselors in a large urban school system. All guidance counselors in an urban inner city school system were invited to attend a workshop on careers in nursing as part of their monthly continuing education requirements. Thirty-nine (39%) participated in the half-day workshop held at a school of nursing. Most informative were the guidance counselor comments about perceptions of nursing careers that create barriers to recruitment. Guidance counselors reported that (a) many students and parents view nursing as a "dangerous field," (b) negative stereotypes about nursing persist, (c) many students do not plan for the prerequisites for baccalaureate entrance, (d) nursing is perceived as a "narrow" field with few opportunities for advancement, and (e) there is a preference of 2-year programs to get "quick income" over baccalaureate programs and long-term career planning. Faculty and students addressed these issues. Faculty collaboration with guidance counselors is an excellent mechanism to uncover barriers to minority recruitment at the local level. Nursing recruitment activities should be tailored to address these community concerns. In the last 4 years, 24 students from the targeted high school system were offered admission to the University at Buffalo and of this group 17 enrolled in nursing.