My name is Randi Danielle Logan and this blog was created for partial fulfillment for the class NU 602 at The University of North Alabama where I am currently seeking a graduate degree in nursing education.

Nursing History

During the Civil War, an estimated 3,000 untrained women served as nurses caring for wounded soldiers on the battlefield, in makeshift hospitals, even in their own homes  (Egenes, n.d., p. 6).  The nursing profession of today owes much to the Civil War volunteer nurses, because it was they who laid the groundwork for nursing within the United States and worked to change the overall opinion of women in healthcare (Egenes, n.d., p. 6).  In 1872 the first official nursing school was established in the nurse training school of Women's Hospital of Philadelphia (Egenes, n.d., p. 8).  Mary Mahoney was the first African American graduate nurse in the United States.  She graduated from the nurse training program at the New England Hospital for Women and Children (Egenes, n.d., p. 8).  By the end of the 19th century, graduate nurses could find employment as private duty nurses in patient homes, hospitals that provided care to patients with complex conditions, or in the public health arena as school nurses or social workers (Egenes, n.d., pp. 11-12).  The first nurse licensure program was initiated by North Carolina in 1903.  By 1921, 48 states, along with the District of Columbia and the Hawaiian territory, enforced laws regarding the regulation of nursing practice (Egenes, n.d., p. 13). 

After WW2, a shortage of nurses occurred due to many nurses returning from war to act as wives and mothers  (Egenes, n.d., p. 18).  Most hospital staff nurses gave up their positions once married, and this trend continued until the 1960s (Egenes, n.d., p. 18).  The Goldmark Report of 1923 suggested that nursing education should focus primarily on education rather than on patients, and recommended nursing education take place in universities; hospitals, however, resisted this change due to the free labor student nurses supplied in hospital apprenticeship programs  (Egenes, n.d., p. 19). 

By the 1970s, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nusing administrators, and nurse researchers became educated within advanced master's nursing programs (Egenes, n.d., p. 21).

African American Nursing History

During World War 2, African American women enlisted within the Navy and Army nursing corps, clearing war casualties and serving as nurses in American and European hospitals.  These African American nurses were initially made to serve in segregated units due to their race; however, demands increased by 1945, and the shortage of nurses often left black nurses caring for soldiers regardless of race (Ayers, Gould, Oshinsky, and Soderlund, 2010). 

Statistics of American Nursing Population

As of 2010, there were 2,909,357 licensed RNs in the U.S.  Approximately 4.2% identify themselves as African American, 3.1% are either Asian, Native American, or Pacific Islander, 1.7% or Hispanic/Latino, and 1.4% of the entire nursing population categorize themselves as bi- or mulitracial.  There are roughly 122,495 black or African American nurses out of 2,909,357 total registered nurses.  African American nurses are more common in the South Atlantic, West South Central, and East South Central than anywhere else in America.  Black nurses, along with Asian/Pacific Islander nurses, are more likely than other nurses to hold a minimum of a Bachelor's degree in nursing, and 14.2% of black nurses have a master's or Doctorate degree compared with only 13.2% of Caucasian nurses (MinorityNurse.com, 2010, Nursing Statistics).  These statistics show that approximately 17,394 black nurses are masters or doctorally educated, whereas 348,404 is the approximated number of Casucasian nurses who hold higher level degrees.

Graduate Degrees in Nursing for African Americans

In 2011, African American nurses made up 12.6% of all nursing students enrolled in graduate nursing programs at the master's level, up from 7% in 2002.  That same year, doctoral degree programs in nursing had an enrollment population of 11.9% black nurses (The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, 2012).  However, few minority nurses holding advanced degrees in nursing seek positions as nursing faculty members in schools of nursing.  In 2009, all minority groups combined represented only 11.6% of nursing faculty within schools of nursing (AACN, 2010).

References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN).  (2010).  Enhancing diversity in the nursing workforce.  Retrieved from http://nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ThePracticeofProfessionalNursing/Improving-Your-Practice/Diversity-Awareness/AACN-Fact-Sheet.pdf

Ayers, E., Gould, L., Oshinsky, D., Soderlund, J.  (2010).  American passages:  A history of the United States.  (4th ed.).  Wadsworth:  MA.

Egenes, K.  (n.d.).  History of nursing.  Jones and Bartlett:  Burlington, MA.
The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.  (2012).  African Americans making significant progress in graduate nursing programs.  Retrieved from http://www.jbhe.com/2012/03/african-americans-making-significant-progress-in-graduate-nursing-programs/

MinorityNurse.com.  (2010).  Minority nursing statistics.  Retrieved from http://www.minoritynurse.com/minority-nursing-statistics