Initiatives aimed at retaining ethnically diverse student nurses in undergraduate programmes: An integrative review

To identify initiatives aimed at retaining ethnically diverse students in Bachelor/Baccalaureate undergraduate nursing programmes. The review focused on identifying strategies attempting to address this issue.

There is a recognised shortage of ethnically diverse registered nurses (RN) worldwide. Multiple strategies have been implemented internationally to create a more linguistically and culturally diverse RN workforce. Governments have invested significant resources into these strategies, but the outcomes have been variable. If a future RN workforce is to be representative of their populations, then effective evidence-based interventions are required.

An integrative review of the literature published from January 2006-December 2015.

CINAHL, PubMed, ProQuest, ERIC and Cochrane databases were searched using the key terms student nurse, attrition and retention to identify papers. The CASP tools were used to evaluate relevant studies for rigour (Critical Appraisal Skills Programme [CASP], 2017). Seventeen papers were identified for inclusion. The findings from these studies were analysed using thematic analysis.

Four themes emerged from the analysis: prediction, recruitment and retention, single approach and multiple approaches.

Many factors affect the processes of retaining ethnically diverse student nurses in a Bachelor/Baccalaureate undergraduate programme. Programme single approaches appear to be limiting; however, implementation of a broad range of strategies across the continuum from recruitment to graduation is likely to be a more appropriate solution to achieving higher graduation rates amongst ethnically diverse students.

Supporting the recruitment and retention of ethnically diverse students assists in greater numbers of RNs graduating and provides a more linguistically and culturally diverse workforce representative of their population.