A mentoring pyramid for African American nursing students

The purpose of this investigation was to ascertain the African American nursing students' perception of a need for a mentoring program for this population. The percentage of ethnic minorities graduating from baccalaureate nursing programs has continued to decline since 1990 (National League of Nursing, 1995). The March 1996 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses estimated there were 2,559,000 registered nurses in the United States. Only 107,500 of these nurses were African American. Data from the 1996 U.S. Census revealed African Americans to be the largest ethnic minority group in the country (14 percent). Based upon the number of racially and culturally diverse clients seeking healthcare, there is a gross underrepresentation of racially and culturally diverse nurses available to administer that care. The attrition rate for African American nursing students is high. Some of the reasons for this failure to retain and graduate African American students from schools of nursing are associated with the lack of mentoring relationships with persons whom students can relate to, feel comfortable with, learn from, and emulate. This study examined the perceptions of African American nursing students enrolled at a predominantly European-American public university in the Southeast United States. The students identified certain categories of needs they felt could be met in a mentoring relationship with a nurse educator.