In all aspects of healthcare, people seek out providers who share and understand their life experiences, and demographics are a proxy for life experiences. At Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMUoHP), the Nursing Department is striving to graduate Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) who represent the patients they will serve.
Diversity of experiences is important when it comes to education. Demographic diversity in a student body contributes to the quality of the education each student receives. When a range of experiences are meaningfully introduced into the student body, students gain empathy and leadership skills.
“In a word, diversity experiences mean you are better prepared,” adds Stephanie Richardson, PhD, RN, Nursing Department Chair.
“The Nursing programs at RMUoHP have an advantage in creating cohorts whose demographics mirror those of the general US population. Since all programs are non-residential, we are able to recruit and retain students from all across the nation, and are not restricted to recruiting locally,” said Richardson.
Table 1: Nursing Department student demographics compared to target population demographics
| United States population* | United States NP** | Utah population* | Utah NP~ | RMUoHP Nursing students | |
| Age | Median
37.3 years |
Mean+
49 years |
Median
29.0 years |
Mean
49 years |
Mean
39.6 years |
| Gender | Male 48.6%
Female 51.3% |
Male 14.9%
Female 85.1% |
Male 49.9%
Female 50.1% |
Male 17%
Female 82.8% |
Male 29%
Female 71% |
| Ethnicity
Pacific Islander Native American Hispanic Black Asian |
US Population
0.2% 0.8% 17.1% 12.6% 5.1% |
US APRN
NR 0.2% 4.5% 5.7% 4.1% |
Utah Population
1% 1.5% 13.5% 1.3% 2.4% |
Utah APRN
0.2% 0.5% 2.9% 0.1% 4.6% |
RMUoHP Nursing students
0.0% 0.0% 7.0% 22.0% 0.0% |
* 2010 United States Census ** HRSA Sex, Race, and Ethnic Diversity of U.S. Health Occupations (2011-2015) + AANP 2017 Nurse Practitioner Fact Sheet ~ Utah Medical Education Council database 2016
As noted in the table above, the average RMUoHP nursing student is about as old (median age of 39.6 years) as the average American (median age of 39.6 years). However, RMUoHP nursing students tend to be younger than NPs in general, by about 10 years. “We are pleased with that. Our students have ten more years to contribute to the profession and to the care of citizens, compared to other NP populations,” said Richardson.
Women are predominate in the field of nursing, which matches RMUoHP’s nursing program student populations. However, more RMUoHP students are male (male = 29%) compared to the national (male = 14.9%) and Utah NP (male = 17.0%) populations.
While nursing is a predominantly White profession, as is the national and local population of nurse practitioners, RMUoHP enrolls more students who identify as Black (22%) and Hispanic (7%), compared to the national NP population (Black 5.7% and Hispanic 4.5%).
This data is significant, explains Richardson, because “our programs have developed a reputation for taking diversity seriously–RMUoHP is a place where all students are not only welcome but are full participants. It means that the nursing student body is more diverse than the population of nurse practitioners in the US and on some measures, approaches and exceeds the diversity of the US population. It means that we are graduating an APRN workforce that contributes to diversity in healthcare.”
For Richardson, addressing equity within the nursing programs is important. “It means that students are receiving an education that includes the experiences and viewpoints of their future patients,” adds Richardson.
“Can we do better? Of course, particularly in ethnic diversity, and in actually demonstrating that student diversity is not just acknowledged, but experienced in the classroom. We are also looking for ways to measure gains in empathy and leadership in our graduates.”
For Richardson and the nursing faculty, supporting and bringing awareness to diversity is an important part of the curriculum and for the success of the profession as a whole.
Resources:
McAllister, G., & Irvine, J. J. (2002). The Role of Empathy in Teaching Culturally Diverse Students: A Qualitative Study of Teachers’ Beliefs. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(5), 433–443. https://doi.org/10.1177/002248702237397
Lee, R. K. (2011). Implementing Grutter’s diversity rationale: Diversity and empathy in leadership. Duke J. Gender L. & Pol’y, 19, 133.
Boisjoly, J., Duncan, G. J., Kremer, M., Levy, D. M., & Eccles, J. (2006). Empathy or antipathy? The impact of diversity. American Economic Review, 96(5), 1890-1905.
