Caring for our own: the role of institutionalized support structures in Native American nursing student success

In this project, the authors asked 19 Native American baccalaureate nursing students to discuss their experiences with a formal institutionalized student support program called "Caring for Our Own: A Reservation/University Partnership Program." The authors investigated the importance of different types of support structures within this program, as viewed by Native American nursing students. They distinguished between four institutionalized support structures: tangible, informational, emotional, and belonging. The authors found that students consider tangible support (such as stipends) to be comparatively less important than other types of support, particularly emotional and belonging support. Responses also revealed the importance of a fifth type of institutionalized support-motivational. The authors further discuss how these institutionalized support structures might lead to successful outcomes for Native American nursing students.