North Carolina A&T State University hosts the Black Nurse Scientists Mentoring Program HBCU Tour
NCA&T nursing students learn about nursing sciences during the inaugural Nurse Scientists Mentoring Program. Photograph by Alphonso Abbot Jr. provided courtesy of NCA&T School of Nursing.
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NCA&T nursing students learn about nursing sciences during the inaugural Nurse Scientists Mentoring Program. Photograph by Alphonso Abbot Jr. provided courtesy of NCA&T School of Nursing.
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The four Black Nurse Scientist Mentoring Program speakers (right to left: Dr. Dawn Aycock, Dr. Fawn Cothran, Dr. Schenita Randolph, Dr. Kamila Alexander) address the audience at NCA&T. Photograph by Alphonso Abbot Jr. provided courtesy of NCA&T School of Nursing.
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Dr. Tiffany Morris (standing) asks a question of the panel during the mentoring program at NCA&T State University. Photograph by Alphonso Abbot Jr. provided courtesy of NCA&T School of Nursing.
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Approximately 150 NCA&T nursing students attended the event. Photograph by Alphonso Abbot Jr. provided courtesy of NCA&T School of Nursing.
About 150 nursing students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University recently took part in the first-of-its-kind Black Nurse Scientists Mentoring Program. The historically Black colleges and universities tour involved four Black nurse scientists who design studies, supervise research, and publish their findings.
Each shared their research expertise across a variety of different scenarios: stroke prevention, dementia family caregiving, and intimate partner violence. A&T professor Tiffany Morris says the goal was clear:
“Having students of color particularly interested in things like decreasing health disparities or increasing health equity," she says. "And what we found with the students who participated in this tour overwhelmingly they all said, ‘We didn’t know that this was something we could do beyond bedside nursing.'"
According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, roughly 8% of nursing faculty are Black. Meanwhile less than 1% are nurse scientists. Morris hopes to change that dynamic through mentorship opportunities like this one. She says some of the speakers were themselves graduates of HBCUs who overcame challenges of acceptance due to their minority status.
"The students were able to connect on that level as well, so there was a social and service aspect about their journey," says Morris. "One of the ladies was from Johns Hopkins, and our students are doing some internships at Johns Hopkins this summer. So, the students were able to say, ‘Hey, I’m going to be at that hospital where this nursing researcher works at. There is room for me at that table.’"
According to event organizers, only three HBCUs offer Ph.D. programs in nursing. But that number is about to change. Last month, A&T officials announced the UNC System Board of Governors’ approval of a Doctor of Nursing Practice program in the university’s Hairston College of Health and Human Sciences. Applications will be received as early as fall of this year.
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