The Saint Louis University (SLU) School of Nursing has received $1.5 million in federal funds to support disadvantaged students with student and faculty mentors, tuition assistance, and pre-entry work experiences. The grant money will be provided by the US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) over the span of four years to help increase the recruitment, enrollment, and retention of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Teri Murray, PhD, dean of the SLU School of Nursing, tells StLAmerican.com, “These funds will help increase diversity within the SLU School of Nursing. Racially diverse students, from populations currently underrepresented in nursing, will be paired with peer mentors, faculty mentors, and seasoned nurse mentors who are out working in the field.”
The peer mentors will be seasoned nursing students who can assist incoming students with navigating the academic life of nursing school. African American and Hispanic/Latino students are underrepresented in nursing education and the financial challenges of school can be the most pressing for students from underrepresented or disadvantaged backgrounds. SLU will collaborate with the Black Nurses Association of Greater St. Louis and the National Association of Hispanic Nurses to identify professional mentors for selected nursing students.
Thanks to the HRSA nursing workforce diversity grant, students from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds can work less and have more time to focus on their studies. Freshman and sophomore students will receive stipends of $5,000 to assist with tuition, books, and fees, and $200 monthly toward food and housing. The grant will assist 10 students per year, for a total of 40 students.
Murray tells StLAmerican.com, “Mentoring has been shown to be effective for students from underrepresented backgrounds in serving as role models, assisting students to navigate college life and the profession, and in general showing the student the ropes. Each of the students in the project will be assigned a professional nurse mentor, a nursing faculty mentor, and an upperclassman nursing student mentor during the course of their nursing education.”
To learn more about the SLU School of Nursing’s nursing workforce diversity grant, visit here.
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