Asian Faculty Research Articles

School Nursing in an Underserved Multiethnic Asian Community: Experiences and Outcomes

Based on an Asian faculty's previous work, University of South Alabama College of Nursing conducted a project¹ targeting the Asian population in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. The Helene Fuld Health Trust, HSBC, Trustee funded the project to demonstrate effective models for involving nursing students and faculty members in community-based practice. This project provided health services and developed educational programs for this underserved population. To facilitate entry into the Asian community, the College estab-lished clinical sites at 2 schools in Bayou La Batre that had the highest concentration of Asians in Mobile County's public school system. The purpose of the project was to develop a new curriculum, to involve nursing students in community-based practice, and to provide health care services in the community. The health services, educational programs, and com-munity instructional activities generated substantial outcomes for the targeted population as well as nursing students. Nursing students learned to assess aggregates, plan, and evaluate interventions. The learning outcomes of the nursing students were evaluated using objec-tives developed in accordance with Bloom's (1956) Taxonomy. The project not only com-plemented and expanded existing school health services and programs but also filled the void in some health service and program areas. Preliminary evaluation of the project re-vealed overwhelmingly positive feedback from both the nursing students and Bayou La Batre school teachers. This article also explores the implications of the newly issued "Na-tional Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health Care" for nursing education in the contexts of the Census 2000 and the megatrend of globalization.

Tenure, Race/Ethnicity and Attitudes toward Affirmative Action: A Matter of Self-Interest?

The present study, which surveyed members of the American Psychological Association who work in academic positions, examined the hypothesis that, due to the effects of self- and collective-interest, the attitudes of White, African American, Hispanic, and Asian faculty toward affirmative action would be moderated by tenure status. Hypotheses were partially confirmed. Untenured African Americans demonstrated some- what more supportfor affirmative action than did tenured African Americans. However, like Whites, untenured Hispanics and Asians were less supportive of affirmative action than their tenured colleagues. As expected, White men were less supportive of affirmative action than White women or African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians. Discussion considered how the perceived benefits and costs of affirmative action may differ for different ethniclracial groups.

Minority faculty and academic rank in medicine.

Previous studies have found that fewer minority medical school faculty hold senior professorial ranks than do majority faculty and may not be promoted as rapidly. To determine whether minority faculty were as likely as majority faculty to have attained senior rank (associate professor or full professor) after adjusting for other factors that typically influence promotion. A self-administered mailed survey of US medical school faculty using the Association of American Medical Colleges database. The sample was stratified by department, graduation cohort, and sex. A stratified random sample of 3013 full-time faculty at 24 representative US medical schools. All underrepresented minority faculty at these schools were sampled. Attainment of senior academic rank (associate professor or full professor). Of 3013 faculty surveyed, 1807 (60.0%) responded, including 1463 white (81.0%), 154 black (8.5%), 136 Asian (7.5%), and 54 Hispanic (3.0%). Overall, 980 faculty (54%) had attained senior academic rank, including 47 (30.5%) of 154 black faculty, 59 (43.4%) of 136 Asian faculty, 22 (40.8%) of 54 Hispanic faculty, and 852 (58.3%) of 1463 white faculty. White faculty had significantly more first-authored and total peer-reviewed publications than the other groups. After adjusting for the medical school, department, years as medical school faculty, number of peer-reviewed publications, receipt of research grant funding, proportion of time in clinical activities, sex, and tenure status, we found that the odds ratios of holding senior rank relative to white faculty were 0.33 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.17-0.63) for black faculty, 0.36 (95% CI, 0.12-1.08) for Hispanic faculty, and 0.58 (95% CI, 0.30-1.12) for Asian faculty. Minority faculty were less likely than white faculty to hold senior academic rank. This finding was not explained by potential confounders such as years as a faculty member or measures of academic productivity.