Currently, an estimated 13% of African Americans are in the nursing profession and increasing those numbers is vital to caring for an aging African American population. “It’s already been shown that it’s better to have those who remind you of yourself, who look like you, they show that the healing is even better when you’re working with folks who are there who are like you.” A large part of making sure nurses of color come into the profession is having role models and examples and mentors available and working with the school system, according to Dr. Malone. Part of the Campaign for Nursing’s Future is to make sure nursing is presented as “a choice at an earlier stage of the game.”
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As for the future of nursing, Dr. Malone is excited about the possibilities for nurses to be out in communities and helping people to age at home and not in hospitals. “I can’t think of anything better than that, than to know that as you grow you stay in place. As you age, you age in place. You don’t go into a nursing home… nurses help to build that system around how you can age in place, in your own home and keep yourself healthy.”
“The community is huge and the emphasis will be on how to keep people healthy and out of hospitals. Isn’t that a beautiful thing?!”
Indeed it is.
For more information on The Campaign for Nursing’s Future, click DiscoverNursing.com.
Reversing The Black Nursing Crisis: Inside The Campaign For Nursing’s Future With Dr. Beverly Malone was originally published on blackdoctor.org
