During National Nurses Week, the National Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) considers that some data show that this union is registering the highest levels of professionalization and access to fourth-level studies, including doctorates.
“We are encouraged to see an increasingly diverse student population, with almost 40% multiethnic representation of nursing programs, including master’s and doctoral degrees,” this association shared in a statement.
Overall, a national survey released this week shows an increasingly educated workforce that includes more professionals from diverse backgrounds, including Hispanics across all growth trends.
69% of registered nurses are prepared at the bachelor’s level and above, including 2% with doctoral degrees.
Additionally, there are more men now working in nursing, salaries have increased in some states, and these registered health professionals are getting younger.
Although the numbers in this survey vary by work environment and role, 4 in 5 registered nurses report overall job satisfaction, which is great news given concerns about nurse retention and the need to attract more potential students to this race.
More Hispanics graduate in NYC
In the specific case of the Big Apple, the nursing student body at the City University of New York (CUNY) also shows the diverse character that defines this center of higher education.
Overall, about 7 in 10 graduates are from a historically marginalized group.
In the case of the demographic trends of CUNY nursing programs, they have remained constant from 2016 to 2022. Derived from the latest report, the most notable change is the increase in the number of Asian graduates, which increased from 1 in 5 More than 1 in 4 graduate during the reporting period.
In contrast to this change, white and non-Hispanic graduates fell very slightly (-1%), while there was a decrease in the number of black graduates (23%), accompanied by a slight growth of Hispanic graduates (1.6%).
However, despite some good news, it is concluded that “New York continues to struggle to recruit and retain its nursing staff and maintain their education. “Like other nursing programs across the country, CUNY continues to face a lack of educators, clinical rotation spots or mentors for the next generation of nurses.”
The Faculty Census Survey conducted by the National League for Nursing (NLN) reports that in most nursing schools, there continue to be vacant faculty positions.