The University of Virginia (UVA) School of Nursing recently received a Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, which covers diversity in higher education. This was the first time UVA’s nursing school has been honored and they were among 35 health professions schools nationwide to receive a 2018 HEED Award.
Lenore Pearlstein, INSIGHT Into Diversity’s publisher, tells News.Virginia.edu, “The Health Professions HEED Award process consists of a comprehensive and rigorous application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and retention of students and employees – and best practices for both; continued leadership support for diversity; and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion.”
Since establishing an initiative on Diversity, Inclusion, and Excellence Achievement (IDEA) in 2014, UVA’s nursing school has shifted its recruitment, admissions, and retention strategies to welcome more underrepresented and first-generation applicants, established affinity groups for students of color, initiated expansive diversity training for faculty and staff, and urged professors to incorporate diverse perspectives and inclusive content into their courses.
UVA nursing faculty and graduate teaching assistants attend trainings across a variety of diversity-related topics, and all nursing students take part in cultural humility training and a plethora of regular activities to drive the school’s message of inclusivity. In 2018, nearly a third of enrolled students are from groups underrepresented in nursing, and more than 17 percent are male.
To learn more about UVA Nursing’s Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, visit here.
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