A view through a different lens ... strategies for increasing the number of African American nurses

These strategies emphasize nursing as a viable career option comparable to other careers often selected by African American students. Psychosocial issues as well as academic issues related to recruitment and retention were addressed by concentrating efforts on individuals interested in nursing, and academically prepared for the rigors of a university program. These strategies offer short-term and long-term remedies to the problem of shortage of African American professional nurses. A new paradigm for increasing the number of African American nurses is needed. To be effective, it is time for colleges of nursing to view recruitment and retention of African American individuals into the profession of nursing through a different lens.