Press Release

UAMS Medical Center

Advertisement

UAMS Receives $820,000 Minority Nurse Recruitment Grant

LITTLE ROCK – The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Nursing has received an $820,418 federal grant to finance a minority nurse recruitment and retention program for three years.

Advertisement

The UAMS program began July 1 and is directed by Patricia E. Thompson, Ed.D, R.N., associate dean for baccalaureate education in the UAMS College of Nursing. She also is a fellow in the American Academy of Nurses. The grant was awarded by the federal Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration.

The program will focus on Arkansas’ two primary minority groups, African Americans and Hispanics, targeting those from disadvantaged backgrounds, including first-generation college students. Men also will be a focus of the program because there are so few in nursing.
“Only 4.9 percent of nurses in the United States are African American and 2 percent are Hispanic,” Thompson said. “Those are extremely low numbers of minorities, and about 6 percent of nurses are men.”

Advertisement

The UAMS College of Nursing has partnered with six Arkansas schools that will serve as pipelines for minority nursing students. The schools are: Rogers High School, Central High School in Helena, Metropolitan Vocational High School in Little Rock, North Little Rock High School, and high schools at Carlisle and Lonoke.

Faculty and students in the UAMS College of Nursing will visit the schools regularly, working with counselors and teachers. They also will make presentations to students and become mentors to aspiring nurses. College of Nursing students will encourage and help them as e-mail pen pals.

Advertisement

Once these minority students are on the UAMS campus, a number of supports will be there to help keep them in school and to graduate. Financial assistance will be provided to 52 students through scholarships and stipends by the end of the three-year-grant.

The program also includes professional and leadership development.

Advertisement

“Besides the nursing shortage, many of our nursing leaders are baby boomers who will retire in a few years,” Thompson said. “We have to grow our next generation of leaders in this field.”

50 years of fearless reporting and still going strong

Be a part of something bigger and join the fight for truth by subscribing or donating to the Arkansas Times. For 50 years, our progressive, alternative newspaper in Little Rock has been tackling powerful forces through our tough, determined, and feisty journalism. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 email subscribers, it's clear that our readers value our commitment to great journalism. But we need your help to do even more. By subscribing or donating – as little as $1 –, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be supporting our efforts to hire more writers and expand our coverage. Take a stand with the Arkansas Times and make a difference with your subscription or donation today.

Previous article Tuesday night open line Next article The latest polling