Advancing diversity through inclusive excellence in nursing education

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Nurse leaders advocate for workforce diversity.
• Inclusion is often overlooked as a recruitment and retention strategy.
• Improving the academic learning environment requires an inclusive climate.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address organizational considerations of diversity and inclusion in nursing education.
• To present strategies for achieving inclusive excellence.
• To advocate for structural and behavioral adaptations in nursing education.

Main Methods:

• Review of organizational strategies based on authors' experiences.
• Analysis of six key areas: admissions, invisibility, community, promotion/tenure, exclusion, and tokenism.
• Framework based on the Association of American Colleges and Universities' inclusive excellence agenda.

Main Results:

• Identified six organizational strategies (structural and behavioral) to enhance inclusion.
• Highlighted issues such as problematic admissions processes, invisibility, lack of community, biased promotion/tenure, exclusion, and tokenism.
• Demonstrated the link between inclusive climates and academic excellence.

Conclusions:

• Nursing education must adopt structural and behavioral changes to advance inclusive excellence.
• Implementing these strategies can improve the academic learning milieu.
• Achieving inclusive excellence is essential for a diverse and effective nursing workforce.