McAuley School of Nursing part of diversity in education initiative
University of Detroit Mercy’s McAuley School of Nursing (MSON) is one of 50 schools from 28 states that will participate in a national initiative designed to create inclusive learning environments and build a more diverse nursing workforce.
Earlier this year, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) began a project titled Building a Culture of Belonging in Academic Nursing, with funding from Johnson & Johnson to help schools of nursing create environments where students, faculty and staff have a strong sense of belonging and are encouraged to thrive. More than 250 schools of nursing applied and MSON was one of only 50 chosen.
“We applied to be a part of the program as we want to be at the forefront of Detroit nursing education programs to understand and contribute to diversifying our nursing workforce congruent with the communities that we serve,” said Assistant Dean and Associate Professor at the MSON Nutrena Tate. “As change agents of healthcare landscapes, it is essential for Detroit Mercy to be at the table when mission-aligned strategies and initiatives of this magnitude present as an opportunity to address health outcomes and health disparities.”
The AACN will partner with these schools to test a digital platform to improve the ways nurse educators approach teaching, learning and professional engagement. This platform will administer the AACN’s Leading Across Multidimensional Perspectives (LAMP) Culture and Climate Survey, which collects data on student, faculty and staff perceptions of their college classrooms as communities in areas of fair treatment and observations of discrimination, feelings of belonging, value of diversity and inclusion, campus services and clinical training.
Using data collected, the AACN will provide institution-level assessments and action reports to participating schools related to developing inclusive academic environments. This tool provides administrators with a better understanding of how their campus climate influences student experiences and achievement.
Pilot testing of the LAMP survey will be completed in spring 2023 and AACN will disseminate findings to all schools of nursing after that.