IWU is one of eight nursing schools in Indiana that will receive funding to promote health equity and diversity. The Indiana Center for Nursing (ICN) is one of 24 organizations throughout the nation that will receive funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to work toward a culture of health and equity. The ICN was selected as a Diversity in Nursing grantee; their submission highlighted the importance of collaborating with diverse stakeholders and creating replicable strategies to diversify the field of nursing.
Over the next four years, the ICN will receive $2,189,646 from the HRSA to support the Nursing Education and Engagement in Diversity Statewide 2B (NEEDS2B) Program. This program includes subawards to eight schools of nursing in Indiana, and IWU is one of them.
“The program includes holistic admission, educational stipends, and mentoring to support diverse students throughout their school careers,” Laura Rigsby, Associate Professor of Nursing, said. “In short, it empowers diverse students to enter the nursing profession, achieve their dreams, increase diversity in nursing, and helps to alleviate a nursing shortage. This is an important step for all schools involved in the grant and puts IWU at the forefront of leadership in nursing education.”
Goals of the program, which IWU will work toward, include the following:
- Increase diversity and inclusion in the Indiana nursing workforce by implementing the following: scholarships and stipends for students accepted into the program; holistic review and admissions to the school of nursing, mentoring programs; faculty recruitment and retention of diverse faculty; increased percentage of enrollment; retention and graduation of diverse students; and inclusion of cultural intelligence education
- Expand implementation of the current mentoring programs of the schools
- Address social determinants of health and education through a collaborative partnership representing academia, practice, and the community at large
The students participating in the program are a part of the School of Nursing IWU-Marion Pre-licensure Transition to Nursing (TTN) program.
“Students who enter the program will be evaluated using a holistic admission process,” Dr. Ruth Eby, Dean of Doctoral Nursing, said. “The holistic admissions process looks at the whole person, assessing an applicant's unique experiences alongside traditional measures of academic achievement. Funding from the grant will provide qualified students money for tuition and living expenses and provide mentoring as they move through the program. This collaborative effort will benefit students and subsequently patients across Indiana as diverse students will receive support to become nurses.”
For more information about IWU’s School of Nursing, visit https://www.indwes.edu/academics/school-of-nursing/.