Challenges Faced by Black Nurses: Q&A With an Advocate

Black nurses have worked in the healthcare industry for centuries, but workplace challenges persist. For Black History Month, learn more about education for minority nurses.

The history of Black nurses in America dates back centuries. In fact, the famous abolitionist Sojourner Truth was also a vocal and persistent advocate for nursing education.

America saw its first Black licensed nurse in the 19th century; Mary Eliza Mahoney became a nurse in 1879 after working for years as a janitor and a cook at a New England hospital.

These trailblazers led the path for Black nurses, but the journey is far from over. Nurses from minority backgrounds represent only 19.2% of the registered nurse (RN) workforce, according to the 2017 National Nursing Workforce Survey — and Black nurses only make up 6.2% of the nursing workforce, despite making up 12.7% of the U.S. population in 2017.

Education is one possible means to tackle these inequalities, but it still has its challenges. According to a 2018-19 report from the American Association of Colleges of Nurses, only about 34.2% of nursing students in baccalaureate programs came from minority backgrounds.

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It’s also important to consider the teaching staff at universities. It was only in the 1950s that nurse Betty Smith Williams became the first Black person to teach at the college level in California. Today, nursing faculty of color continue to have a low retention rate, a study published in the journal Nursing Outlook found.

For Black History Month, a time to reflect on the impact of nursing education on increasing diversity in the field, Jamil Norman, an RN and committed advocate for increasing diversity in nursing and nursing education, spoke with NurseJournal regarding these issues. She discusses the opportunities that education provides, along with the difficulties and lessons Black nurses experience in the field.

Q&A With Jamil Norman, Ph.D., RN, CNE

The healthcare profession serves a diverse population, and there is a need for representation of all the different cultures we serve. In the healthcare profession, we must consider each patient’s gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, among other characteristics, in order to help better care for and treat the patient holistically.

Diversity is important in the nursing profession because nurses interact with and care for people of different cultures. Specifically, in nursing education, nursing students should have the experience of being taught by a diverse faculty. A diverse faculty can help to educate future nurses on healthcare disparities and inequalities that impact minority communities. This education will then be implemented in the workplace and would have a direct impact on the patient population.

Portrait of Jamil Norman

Jamil Norman

Doctor

Jamil Norman, Ph.D., RN, CNE

Jamil Norman, Ph.D., RN, CNE, faculty member for Walden University’s RN-to-BSN program, is a committed advocate for increasing diversity in nursing and nursing education. She holds more than 19 years of experience as a registered nurse and more than 14 years of experience in higher education.