Engaging middle and high school students in health careers: Reflections on seven years of progress with the bring diversity to nursing program

Over the past seven years, the University Of Massachusetts Lowell Department of Nursing has partnered with the Lawrence and Lowell Public School Systems, the Merrimack Valley YMCA and the Greater Lowell Regional Vocational High School to promote nursing as a career choice to middle and high school students in these communities. The overarching goal of the Bring Diversity to Nursing (BDN) grant-funded program has been to produce well-prepared registered nurses to meet the needs of diverse populations in an ever-changing healthcare environment. Outreach efforts in these communities have occurred through career fairs, workshops, open houses, and minority nurse recruiter presence on the high school campuses. Applicants to the nursing major from Lowell and Lawrence have increased 300% from 2004 to 2011. Our “Nursing as a Career Choice” workshops for middle school students have resulted in 95% of the participants indicating they would consider nursing as a career choice. “Introduction to Nursing” workshops for Lawrence and Lowell high school students have resulted in 81% of the participants indicating they would consider nursing as a career choice. The Department of Nursing's strategic plan has incorporated among its goals to “produce well-prepared graduates to meet the needs of diverse populations in an ever-changing healthcare environment,” and the University of Massachusetts Lowell's Strategic Plan 2020 has identified among its 5 pillars of excellence, “Global Engagement & Inclusive Culture”. In fall 2011, 29% of UMass Lowell students were from underrepresented populations; the goal for 2015 is to raise this to 30%. This presentation will describe the challenges, successes and outcomes of the BDN Program. The specific focus of this presentation will be on the Pre-Entry Recruitment and outreach efforts which engage middle and high school students in the Lowell and Lawrence communities and promote consideration of Nursing as a Future Career Choice.