Challenging stereotypes: A glimpse into nursing's difficulty recruiting African Americans

A racially diverse registered nurse workforce could improve health outcomes for minority populations, and efforts to recruit students from underrepresented groups need to be strengthened.

To explore the perceptions of nursing held by African American undergraduate non-nursing science majors within the context of their career ideals.

Qualitative description was the research design utilized in this study. A purposive sample of 20 African American non-nursing science majors participated in semi-structured interviews. Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña's (2014) coding processes for qualitative analysis were employed.

Three themes were identified that described career behavior, ideals, and the participants' perceptions of nursing as a career: 1.) Career Development: Internal and External Contributions, 2.) The Ideal Career: Profession with Power, and 3.) Perception of Nursing: A Limited Profession. Findings suggest African American science majors carry a significant burden to overcome stereotypes for themselves and their communities, thus desire careers with power and autonomy.

Careers in medicine were idealized whereas careers in nursing were devalued. These college students often embraced careers in medicine due to, in part, the perceived ability to overcome stereotypes and simultaneously rejected nursing careers due to desire to avoid negatively stereotyped careers.