NAHN News

CONTACT: Celia Besore, MBA, CAE, Executive Director/CEO
National Association of Hispanic Nurses, (202) 387-2477
director@thehispanicnurses.org,
www.nahnnet.org

                                         
For immediate release:

New Scholarship Opportunity for NAHN Members
Extended NAHN Scholarships and Awards Deadlines

Washington, DC (May 21, 2013) — The National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN) is delighted to announce the addition of a new scholarship opportunity to the NAHN scholarship program.

The University of Phoenix has partnered with NAHN to offer three (3) full-tuition scholarships. Each scholarship will allow a prospective student the opportunity to complete a LPN/LVN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), an RN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree program at University of Phoenix. Recipients may choose to attend a University of Phoenix on-ground campus or may attend University of Phoenix online.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Applicants must be current members of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN) and must have been a member for six (6) consecutive months or more by the award date for this scholarship.
• Have a valid, unrestricted, unencumbered LPN, LVN license, OR RN license from the United States in all states in which you hold an active license.
• Applicant must be wanting to enroll and pursue one of the following degree programs, LPN/LVN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing*, RN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing or Master of Science in Nursing.
• Applicants, once enrolled, must not receive a total of 100% tuition reimbursement from any source(s) including but not limited to: corporate reimbursement, other scholarships and/or private grants with the exception of Veteran’s Administration GI benefits or Veteran’s Administration Vocational Rehabilitation Benefits and Title IV financial aid funding.

Application deadline: June 18, 2013
Award date:  July 26, 2013

Explore the NAHN University of Phoenix Scholarship page to learn about the scholarship program and to apply for this great opportunity or visit http://www.phoenix.edu/nahnscholar. 

Extension of NAHN Scholarship Date and Removal of W-2 Requirement

Due to this new scholarship opportunity, NAHN is extending the deadline of the regular NAHN Scholarships program to June 18, 2013 so all the deadlines match the University of Phoenix scholarship application deadline. All NAHN Scholarship applications must be received at the NAHN office by June 18, 2013.

Below is the link to the amended NAHN Scholarship Application Form (with new deadline and waived W-2 requirement):

• 2013 NAHN Scholarship Application.

We encourage all our members who qualify to both scholarship programs to apply to BOTH NAHN scholarship opportunities! Last year, NAHN distributed $40,000 in scholarships.

Extension of NAHN Special Awards Application Deadline

We are also extending the deadline to send the Special NAHN Awards application.  All NAHN Scholarship applications must be received at the NAHN office by June 18, 2013. Nominate one of your Chapter champions or nominate yourself!

Below is the link to the 2013 NAHN Special Awards section.

• 2013 NAHN Special Awards

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About National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN)
NAHN National Association of Hispanic Nurses® is a non-profit professional association committed to the promotion of the professionalism and dedication of Hispanic nurses by providing equal access to educational, professional, and economic opportunities for Hispanic nurses. NAHN is also dedicated to the improvement of the quality of health and nursing care of Hispanic consumers.

 

1455 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20004

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - A $5 million gift from a Washington-area financier and his wife will double help double the enrollment in the clinical nurse leader's program at the University of Virginia School of Nursing.

The gift announced this week is from Bill Conway and his wife, Joanne. To be paid out over five years, the gift will fund need-based scholarships for students in the program, increasing enrollment from 48 to 96. The gift will also provide faculty support and operational funding for the program.

U.Va.'s clinical nurse leader program is the only master's entry program in the state that is open to students with a bachelor's degree in other field who are seeking a fast track into the nursing field.

Source: WSET-TV

1. January 27th is School Nurse Day. Planning on flowers? Chocolates? Didn’t think so.

2. The most visits to emergency rooms occur during the warmer months of the year.

3. According to the latest data available to the World Health Organization, Finland, Norway, Monaco, Ireland and Belarus have, in that order, the highest ratios of nurses per capita of all nations, ranging from 2162 to 1182 nurses per 100,000 people.

4. The National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses was formed in 1908.

5. According to a 2001 World Health Organization report, the number of psychiatric nurses in poor countries is about 0.1 per 100,000 persons.

6. In 1783 a black slave named James Derham worked as a nurse in New Orleans, eventually earning enough money to buy his freedom and move to Philadelphia, where he studied medicine and became a doctor.

7. Men and women between the ages of 25 and 44 account for 33 percent of all people in the U. S. who come to emergency rooms with injury-related wounds.

8. Linda Richards became the first nurse to earn a nursing diploma in the United States in 1873.

9. In 1846 the first hospital training school for nurses, the Institute for Protestant Deaconesses, was established in the town of Kaiserwerth, Germany.

10. The National Association of School Nurses recommends nurse-to-student ratios should be one to 750 for general populations, one to 250 in mainstreamed populations and 1 to 125 in severely handicapped populations.

11. According to a recent World Health Organization report, the United States spends more money, as a ratio of GNP, on health care than any country, followed closely by Lebanon and Zimbabwe.

12. “When we are well, we all have good advice for those who are ill.” Terence, from The Woman of Andros (166 B.C.)

13. In a 2001 survey done by the ANA/NursingWorld.com, 45% of nurses expressed fear of getting a potentially deadly disease as one of their top three occupational health concerns.

14. Nursing is one of the fastest growing occupations in the U.S.

15. According to the latest data available to the World Health Organization, Nepal, Liberia, Central African Republic, Haiti and Bangladesh have, in that order, the lowest ratios of nurses per capita of all nations, ranging from 5 to 11 nurses per 100,000 people.

16. One out of every four registered nurses works part time.

17. The American Nurses Association, first known as the Nurses Associated Alumnae, was started in 1898.

18. The New England Hospital for Women and Children, established in 1862, was the first school for nursing in the U.S.

19. The order of the Brothers of Mercy was founded in 1538 by Juan Ciudad. (b. 1495. d. 1550.)

20. One out of every five licensed practical nurses works part time.

21. During the months that school is out, emergency room visits from children under 14 years old rise by 18 percent.

22. The demand for registered nurses is expected to rise 21 to 35 percent through the first decade of the 21st century.

23. “The charity that is a trifle to us can be precious to others.” Homer, from The Odyssey (9th Century, B.C.).

24. There were 358 existing master’s of nursing programs in the U.S. in 2002, comprising 9% of all registered nurses.

25. In a 2001 survey done by the ANA/NursingWorld.com, 59% of nurses expressed fear of getting a severe back injury as one of their top three occupational health concerns.

26. Around 500 A. D. the Benedictine nursing order was founded by Saint Benedict.

27. There were 75 existing doctorate of nursing programs in the U.S. in 2002, comprising 0.6% of all registered nurses.

28. There were 1,100 existing practical nursing programs in the U.S. in 2002.

29. The average annual earnings for registered nurses was $44,840 in 2000.

30. In 1996, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reported that one million workers are assaulted every year in the workplace and that “Most of these assaults occur in service settings such as hospitals, nursing homes, and social service agencies.”

31. In 1898 the British Army formed the Royal Army Medical Corp.

32. According to the latest data available to the World Health Organization, Ireland, Seychelles, Maldives, Philippines and Azerbaijan have, in that order, the highest ratios of midwives per capita of all nations, ranging from 411.0 to 137.0 midwives per 100,000 people.

33. In 1947, Florence Blanchfield, a nurse, became the first female regular commissioned officer in the United States Army, assigned as the superintendent of the Army Nurse Corp. (b. 1882. d. 1971).

34. There are approximately 567,000 bicycle-related injuries each year that require emergency room attention.

35. 29 Victoria Crosses have been awarded to British medical personnel.

36. The United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC) has been the main regulatory institution of nursing training and standards in the British since 1983.

37. “It is one of the beautiful compensations of this life that no one can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.” Charles Dudley Warner, from “Fifth Study,” Backlog Studies (1873).

38. You know you are a nurse when you baste your Thanksgiving turkey with a Toomey syringe.

39. According to a 2001 World Health Organization report, nurses and midwives can comprise between 50% to 90% of the number of health practitioners in many countries.

40. The American College of Nurse-Midwives was formed in 1955.

41. The National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC), recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as the national accrediting body of nursing education programs of all types, oversees over 1,900 different programs.

42. “If you would live in health, be old early.” – a Spanish proverb.

43. Walt Whitman’s service as a nurse during the American Civil War inspired many of his poems, including Memoranda During the War (b. 1819 d. 1892).

44. According to the latest data available to the World Health Organization, the country of Nepal has the lowest ratio of nurses per capita in the world, with 5.0 per 100,000 people.

45. The first nursing school in history dates back to 250 B.C. and was located in India.

46. An associate’s degree in nursing (ADN) takes about 2 to 3 years to earn.

47. Clara Louise Maass is famous for serving as a contract nurse during the Spanish American War. (b. 1876 d. 1901).

48. The largest demand for licensed practical nurses through 2110 will be in nursing homes.

49. 17th century shipwreck survivor Juan de Mena is considered the first nurse in the New World.

50. The average starting wage for a certified registered nurse anesthetist is over $50,000.

Would you believe how many babies this 18th century midwife delivered successfully?  –>

51. According to a recent World Health Organization report, 93 member countries of the United Nations annually spend less than $100 per capita on health care, 56 member countries spend less than $500 per capita and 26 member countries spend over $1000 per capita.

52. The Teutonic Knights, the Knights of Lazarus and the Knights Hospitalers were all orders that organized male nurses to tend to sick and wounded.

53. Second Lieutenant Edward Lynn, in 1955, was the first male to be commissioned in the United States Army Nurse Corp.

54. Around nine million children visit emergency rooms in the U.S. each year due to injuries.

55. “To preserve a man alive in the midst of so many chances and hostilities, is as great a miracle as to create him.” Jeremy Taylor, from The Rule and Exercise of Holy Dying (1651).

56. In October of 1902, Lina Rogers Struthers became the first school nurse in the United States.

57. The second week of May is National Nursing Home Week.

58. A bachelor of science degree in nursing (BSN) takes about 4 to 5 years.

59. Lucretia Lester was a midwife for 34 years, between 1745 and 1779, and is reputed to have helped deliver 1,300 children, of which only two were lost.

60. The Knights Hospitalers was founded in 1119 to protect a hospital build in Jerusalem and also provided nursing care.

61. Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross in 1881. (b. 1821 d. 1912).

62. A 1996 survey done by the Department of Health and Human Services found that 95% of all working nurses are female.

63. The U.S. Army Nurse Corp was started in 1901.

64. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, open wounds are the leading diagnosis for injury-related visits to emergency rooms.

65. Why did the nurse keep the bedpan in the refrigerator? Because when she kept it in the freezer it took too much skin off.

66. There were about 700,000 jobs for licensed practical nurses in the year 2000.

67. According to a recent World Health Organization report, the United States, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark and Germany, respectively, annually spend the most money per capita on health care.

68. About three out of every five registered nurses work in hospitals.

69. The fourth week of May is National Nurses Week.

70. There are more nurses than any other workers in the health profession.

71. “When a man is ill his very goodness is sickly.” Nietzsche, The Will to Power (1888).

72. A 1996 survey done by the Department of Health and Human Services found that only 10% of working nurses represent minorities.

73. There were 86 existing diploma for nursing programs in the U.S. in 2002, comprising 27% of all registered nurses.

74. You know you are a nurse when you think giving your patients TLC means giving them Thorazine, Lorazepam and Compazine.

75. The training time it takes to become a licensed practical nurse is about one year.

76. Traumatic wounds account for around 11 million visits to the emergency room each year.

77. The Canadian Victorian Order of Nurses was founded in 1897 in honor of Queen Victoria of England’s Diamond Jubilee.

78. Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of Abraham Lincoln, was a volunteer nurse during the American Civil War (b. 1818 d. 1882).

79. There were about 2,200,000 jobs for registered nurses in the year 2000.

80. If you see a nurse smiling when things go wrong, she is probably going off duty.

81. May 8th is National Student Nurses’ Day.

82. According to a 2001 World Health Organization report, the number of psychiatric nurses in developed countries is about 33.5 per 100,000 persons.

83. The first week of May is National Hospital Week and Health Care Administrators’ Week.

84. In the various U.S. Military branches, approximately one-third of all nurses are male.

85. In 2000, there were 57,954 school nurses looking out for the health of 52 million students.

86. The Nurses Registration Act of 1919 established the first oversight of nursing training and standards in Great Britain.

87. There were 885 existing associate’s degrees for nursing programs in the U.S. in 2002, comprising 32.0% of all registered nurses.

88. According to the latest data available to the World Health Organization, the United States has a ratio of 972 nurses per 100,000 people, or about the same as Germany and Uzbekistan.

89. In a 2001 survey done by the ANA/NursingWorld.com, 51% of nurses said they worked an average of 41 to 60 hours per week.

90. Mary Seacole, a self-taught nurse, was famous for establishing a hotel for invalids close to the front during the Crimean War.

91. In a 2001 survey done by the ANA/NursingWorld.com, nurses said they spent 62% of their time in direct patient care.

92. Anne L. Austin was a famous historian of nursing (b. 1891 d. 1986).

93. Florence Nightingale, the most famous nurse in modern history, was only a nurse for three years of her life (b. 1820 d. 1910).

94. Saint Camillus de Lellis established a Catholic order called the Fathers of a Good Death in 1584 to tend to the terminally ill, and is also reputed to have designed the red cross on a white background symbol and to have developed the first ambulance (b. 1550 d. 1614).

95. The average annual earnings for licensed practical nurses was $29,440 in 2000.

96. Mary Eliza Mahoney became the first African American nurse in 1879 (b. 1845 d. 1926).

97. There were 695 existing baccalaureate of nursing programs in the U.S. in 2002, comprising 31% of all registered nurses.

98. You know you are a nurse when you find yourself complimenting a complete stranger on his veins.

99. The demand for licensed practical nurses is expected to rise 10 to 20 percent through the first decade of the 21st century.

100. In a 2001 survey done by the ANA/NursingWorld.com, 71% of nurses selected ‘acute/chronic effects of stress and overwork’ as one of their top three occupational health concerns.

101. You know you are in trouble when it’s your first night shift in three years and there’s a full moon.

By Brittney Edwards

Frontier Nursing University has been awarded a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Scholarship for Disadvantaged Students (SDS) program. This four-year grant totals $1,350,000 and will provide scholarships to 90 students over the grant period.

The purpose of the SDS Program is to increase diversity in the health professions and nursing workforce by providing grants to eligible health professions and nursing schools for use in awarding scholarships to financially needy students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Many of these students are from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds and will help diversify the health workforce. Because 100% of FNU graduates are trained in primary care, the FNU student body is a precise fit with the goals of the SDS program. Not only does Frontier recruit, educate and graduate advanced practice nurses and midwives to work in primary care, but our university targets students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds and minority groups. With over 60% of FNU students fitting the educationally disadvantaged category and 20% qualifying as economically disadvantaged, FNU has a pool of students who can benefit greatly from this assistance.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer these scholarships to our students who might have had their graduate education goals postponed or unfulfilled because of financial constraints,” said Dr. Susan Stone, FNU President and Dean. “Our mission is to educate nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to serve women and families with a focus on rural and underserved areas, so the SDS grant is a perfect fit with our institutional goals.”

FNU will award 90 scholarships, valued at $15,000 each, over the four-year grant period. FNU tuition for the entire program, if attending full-time, ranges from $24,000 to $31,000. This low tuition will allow FNU to award nearly full scholarships for tuition with some funding for fees, books and reasonable living expenses. This funding will make the difference to students experiencing financial difficulties and allow them to complete their graduate education.

In addition to being a Career Job Board for student Nurses up to CNO's, we are an Information Resource. We hope you find this "Focus on Diversity" story particularly interesting...

Pat Magrath, National Sales Director at DiversityNursing.com recently sat down with Dr. Earlene Avalon, PhD, MPH, Director of Nursing Diversity Initiatives; and Eva Gómez, MSN, RN, CPN, Staff Development Specialist at Children's Hospital Boston to discuss the Nursing Career Lattice Program, Diversity and Cultural Competence, and their roles at Children's Hospital Boston.

 

Dr. Avalon has overseen The Nursing Career Lattice Program (NCLP) at Children's Hospital Boston since the Program started in 2009. The NCLP is an initiative designed to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of Children's nursing staff. Through a generous grant, the NCLP was designed to "address the local shortage of nurses of color as well as to create a workforce that better reflects our patient population's multi-ethnic and multi-racial makeup. The Lattice Program looks for potential nursing students among our current employees-including Clinical Assistants, Surgical Technicians, Administrative Assistants and Food Service staff." The NCLP provides the services and support employees need to complete their education in various nursing schools throughout the Boston area.  

 

Dr. Avalon states, "It is important to note that I am not a nurse by training. My training is in public health and workforce development in healthcare. I have always been interested in ways that we can increase diversity at the provider level (e.g. nursing) and how that impacts patient satisfaction and outcomes."   

 

Dr. Avalon suggests "workforce development programs are a win-win for both the employee and the hospital. In particular, given the significant impact that nurses have on the lives of our patients and their families, we are committed to continuously growing a nursing workforce that is able to successfully meet the needs of our changing patient population."

 

"Our work focuses on looking within our own four walls and developing our employees to their fullest potential," says Dr. Avalon. "One of my responsibilities, and truly one of the best aspects of my job, is the opportunity to sit down with an employee and discuss their aspirations and any challenges they face in pursuit of a career in nursing.  For many, they were forced to put their dream of becoming a nurse on hold.  Oftentimes, employees express that they are the first in their family to attempt college-level courses and they do not have support systems at home. As a result, they often do not know what questions to ask or where to begin and this can negatively impact their success in college. NCLP offers support to our employees that allows them to realize that they are not alone in this process."  

 

The program provides employees with one-on-one mentoring, professional development, academic counseling and the financial support needed to successfully complete nursing school. "My team helps employees to create a semester-by-semester plan that will enable them to pursue their dream of becoming a nurse - even if it is on a part-time basis." Dr. Avalon continues "We also support our employees by providing them with an experienced nurse as a mentor and the opportunity to shadow a nurse in order to have a better understanding of the profession."

 

NCLP is not just an academic resource; they help each employee with tutoring, selecting pre-nursing coursework as well as creating a plan to help balance the demands associated with school, transportation, family and work. NCLP enables Children's Hospital Boston to create a strong multicultural workforce that provides the best family-centered care to their patients and community.

 

Five years ago Ms. Gomez came on board as a Staff Development Specialist to focus the work on Cultural Competence and Diversity. She states, "Among my many roles, I lead the Multi-Cultural Nurses' Forum, the Student Career Opportunities Outreach Program and I provide Cultural Diversity Awareness training to staff throughout the hospital."

 

I asked Ms. Gomez why Healthcare Institutions should have someone like her on their staff. She responded, "Cultural competence and diversity are two essential ingredients in delivering care for all patients and should be assets that are recognized, valued and embraced at every level of any hospital or healthcare institution. Awareness, advocacy and education are essential components of successful diversity and cultural competence initiatives. Having someone in this role can help hospitals remain on track by carrying out the activities that drive these initiatives. This effort will ultimately lead us into providing care for all of our patients in a culturally appropriate and meaningful way."

 

She also states, "The work of diversity is ongoing and evolving. In 5-10 years, we will probably have grown and improved the diversity within the nursing profession. However, I expect we will continue to work so our efforts don't become stagnant and we need to sustain the positive changes achieved thus far. The future is hopeful, but it will require time, dedication and work from all of us."

 

Working together with other Children's Hospital Boston employees, Dr. Avalon and Ms. Gomez have:

• Organized and coordinated The Multi-Cultural Nurses' Forum, which included their first-ever night session. This session was held at 2am in order to better meet the needs of their night nurses. The hospital's CNO and Senior Vice President, Eileen Sporing attended the meeting in order to have a one-on-one conversation with the night time nursing staff who are part of the forum.
• Brought diverse high school students into the nursing profession through their Student Career Opportunities Outreach Program.
• Created a successful nursing mentoring program.

The following is a Diversity Statement written and signed by numerous colleges and universities and taken from the University of Virginia's website for their Office of African American Affairs. It provides good insight into the value that diversity adds in higher education, which almost always applies to professions, like nursing, as well.

 

On the Importance of Diversity in Higher Education

America's colleges and universities differ in many ways. Some are public, others are independent; some are large urban universities, some are two-year community colleges, others small rural campuses. Some offer graduate and professional programs, others focus primarily on undergraduate education. Each of our more than 3,000 colleges and universities has its own specific and distinct mission. This collective diversity among institutions is one of the great strengths of America's higher education system, and has helped make it the best in the world. Preserving that diversity is essential if we hope to serve the needs of our democratic society.

Similarly, many colleges and universities share a common belief, born of experience, that diversity in their student bodies, faculties, and staff is important for them to fulfill their primary mission: providing a quality education. The public is entitled to know why these institutions believe so strongly that racial and ethnic diversity should be one factor among the many considered in admissions and hiring. The reasons include:

Diversity enriches the educational experience. We learn from those whose experiences, beliefs, and perspectives are different from our own, and these lessons can be taught best in a richly diverse intellectual and social environment.

It promotes personal growth and a healthy society. Diversity challenges stereotyped preconceptions; it encourages critical thinking; and it helps students learn to communicate effectively with people of varied backgrounds. 
It strengthens communities and the workplace. Education within a diverse setting prepares students to become good citizens in an increasingly complex, pluralistic society; it fosters mutual respect and teamwork; and it helps build communities whose members are judged by the quality of their character and their contributions. 
It enhances America's economic competitiveness. Sustaining the nation's prosperity in the 21st century will require us to make effective use of the talents and abilities of all our citizens, in work settings that bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

American colleges and universities traditionally have enjoyed significant latitude in fulfilling their missions. Americans have understood that there is no single model of a good college, and that no single standard can predict with certainty the lifetime contribution of a teacher or a student. Yet the freedom to determine who shall teach and be taught has been restricted in a number of places, and come under attack in others. As a result, some schools have experienced precipitous declines in the enrolment of African-American and Hispanic students, reversing decades of progress in the effort to assure that all groups in American society have an equal opportunity for access to higher education.

Achieving diversity on college campuses does not require quotas. Nor does diversity warrant admission of unqualified applicants. However, the diversity we seek, and the future of the nation, do require that colleges and universities continue to be able to reach out and make a conscious effort to build healthy and diverse learning environments appropriate for their missions. The success of higher education and the strength of our democracy depend on it.

 

by Pamela Babcock - Freelance Witer
for shrm.org

NEW YORK—Getting diversity and inclusion (D&I) “right” requires strong CEO commitment. But an all-white panel of CEOs who recently won diversity leadership awards said the seeds for their passion were planted long before they entered the corporate ranks.

George Borst, president and CEO of Toyota Financial Services, grew up playing stickball in Hollis, Queens, N.Y., while Michael I. Roth, chairman and CEO of Interpublic Group, was raised in nearby Brooklyn. Michael Howard, COO of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, lived on military bases because his father was in the Air Force.

Meanwhile, John Edwardson, chairman and CEO of CDW, was raised in a small southern Illinois town that had just one African-American couple but later lived in Hyde Park, a diverse area on Chicago’s South Side. And John B. Veihmeyer, chairman and CEO of KPMG, who has five sisters and two daughters, said he has seen first-hand the career challenges the women in his family have faced.

Personal experiences frame you, Veihmeyer told attendees June 8, 2011, at the CEO Diversity Leadership Awards and CEO Forum, held at Columbia University here. “You’re actually in a position now to try to make a difference about something that has probably been important to you your whole life.”

The 2011 CEO Diversity Leadership Awards were presented by Diversity Best Practices, a New York-based membership group for diversity and inclusion practitioners. In addition, the group recognized diversity officers with its annual Diversity Officers Leadership Award (DOLA).

2011 DOLA winners included Herbertina “Tina” Johnson, senior director of diversity for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service; Melissa Donaldson, director of inclusion practices at CDW; Heide Gardner, chief diversity and inclusion officer at Interpublic Group; Kathy Hopinkah Hannan, national managing partner of diversity and corporate responsibility at KPMG and Joe Husman, corporate manager of corporate social responsibility for Toyota Financial Services.

Carol Evans, CEO of Diversity Best Practices and president of Working Mother Media, said the awards recognize CEOs who are “leading the culture” and diversity officers “who not only have the strategy on their shoulders, but also have to make sure that everything gets implemented.”

The Business Case

During the event, several CEOs explained why diversity is a strategic imperative:

Borst said diversity is key to helping mirror the market his company competes in and said Toyota Financial Services makes more loans to African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Americans and women than does any other captive finance company in North America. “By having an organization and a structure that is diverse, we’re better able to understand this market,” he said.

Toyota supports underserved and underprivileged communities, “which unfortunately are dominated, in a lot of cases, by diversity,” Borst noted. This has had a spillover effect with employees: In the most recent annual associate opinion survey, 96 percent said that they thought that Toyota Financial Services was socially responsible, he added.

Instead of what he called “checkbook charity,” Borst said, the company participates in events at Boys & Girls Clubs of East Los Angeles, where associates “can dig in and volunteer and build relationships both with the community and with one another.”

As a professional services firm, KPMG requires intellectual capital that is as diverse as the clients it serves. Veihmeyer said it’s easy to get passionate about diversity because “it’s the right thing to do, for all the right reasons.”

But if that’s all you view it as, you’re not going to succeed, he said.

“We can’t have our diversity initiatives kind of tucked over to the side as some fifth leg to a stool,” he said. “What we have tried to do is to bake diversity into each of those four strategic priorities: quality growth, professionalism and integrity, being an employer of choice, and maintaining a global mind-set,” Veihmeyer explained.

The company can’t afford to fail to attract or retain a single high performer because it doesn’t believe KPMG is “supportive, committed to and totally focused on their success, irrespective of what their background or other needs may be,” Veihmeyer added. That’s why, among other things, the company has a key accounts rotation program that targets ethnically diverse associates to ensure that, early in their careers, they receive the client exposure and broad range of experience needed to succeed.

Roth of Interpublic, an advertising and marketing giant with 41,000 employees in 130 countries, noted that the advertising industry has “historically been terrible when it comes to diversity and inclusion,” pointing to the television show “Mad Men” as an example. His firm’s diversity initiatives are a differentiator in the marketplace because “If we’re not communicating the message correctly for our clients, we lose our clients.”

Edwardson of CDW, an IT products and services provider, said that shortly after he joined the company, he asked about the company’s target market and was told by its advertising agency that it was “white males between the ages of 26 and 42.” A couple of weeks later, he viewed focus group videos and realized quickly that this wasn’t the case. Changes were made and revenue grew. Diversity is “clearly the right thing to do, but it has been darn good business for CDW as well,” he said.

Bringing the Mission to Life

Borst said recent drama—a global recession, product recalls and a tsunami and earthquake in Japan—could have pushed diversity onto the sidelines at Toyota. However, “What we have tried to do is to make sure it stays as one of the important priorities,” he said. “I try to make sure the behavior I’m trying to model is modeled by the rest of the people on the management committee, and it all cascades down,” he said.

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which provide goods and services for the Army and Air Force, has about 43,000 employees in 30 countries. Howard said he likes “helping develop the future.” He spends a couple of hours each week with different diverse groups and asks high performers “what can we do to help you?” Howard said they usually have the hard skills—they know how to do the jobs—but they often lack networking or social skills. “They are very eager to learn,” Howard reflected. “I say ‘well I’ve got half an hour,’ and two hours later we’re still talking.”

At CDW, it’s critical to build the pipeline at all levels of the organization, according to Edwardson. “I spent a lot of time with recruiting to make sure that for every single opening that we have that comes up that we have a diverse list of candidates,” he said.

Roth noted just how influential some diversity groups can be. Interpublic’s Women’s Leadership Network, which has about 10,000 participants globally, sponsored an event in June 2011, titled “Beyond Mad Men: Toward Gender Diversity in Creative Roles,” during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Roth will host the event, which will be moderated by CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien and feature a panel that includes Martha Stewart. It will focus on the dearth of women in the most senior creative roles and what can be learned from women who have made inroads in advertising, marketing and media.

In the end, organizers emphasized, it’s important to have a partnership between the chief executive and chief diversity officer. Andrés Tapia, president of Diversity Best Practices, said that without an effective diversity leader, “a CEO’s commitment cannot be turned into the strategies, programs, processes and action plans that bring the mission to life.”

In closing, Gardner of Interpublic offered this thought: “What I am learning is: Inclusion is pretty much the same everywhere,” she said. “It’s not just about making diversity counts but about making diversity count. And that holds true wherever you are.”

Pamela Babcock is a freelance writer based in the New York City area.

by Alicia Williams-Hyman

Staff Assistant
Hausman Diversity Program at Mass General Hospital

 

The Hausman Student Nurse Fellowship was created when MGH patient Margaretta Hausman, a social worker and graduate of Brown University, recognized the need for diversity among the top-level nursing staff. The Hausman Student Nurse Fellowship provides an opportunity for minority nursing students enrolled in an undergraduate baccalaureate nursing program to gain experience in patient care across the continuum.

The fellowship allows student nurses between the summer of their junior and senior year in college to experience care at the bedside in both inpatient and outpatient settings.  Under the mentorship of Deborah Washington, R.N., Director of Diversity for Patient Care Services and Bernice McField-Avila MD, Co-Chair of the Fellowship, the recipients have an opportunity to further develop skills required to thrive in a workplace where unique challenge to the minority nurse must be managed.

The first fellowship was awarded to Stevenson Morency in 2007.  The program flourished significantly and in 2011, the fellowship was awarded to 8 minority student nurses, the largest group in the history of the program. The Student Nurses worked on various units such as Endoscopy, Orthopedics, General Medicine, Thoracic Surgery, Cardiac Unit, Neurosurgery Unit, Wang Wound Care, Cancer Center and the Grey IV department.

At the graduation ceremony on August 19, 2011, the Hausman Student Nurses provided feedback about their time in the program. Vicky Yu, a student of UMass and a 2011 recipient, felt honored to be part of the fellowship. She stated she saw many procedures she had only read about in her textbooks: colonoscopy, hip/knee replacements and urinary catheterization. “I got to work with a nurse 1-on-1. I don't get this attention on my school clinical and I loved it!” stated Vicky.   

Jennifer Etienne of Boston College stated: “As a minority nurse, it will be my mission to eliminate health care disparities and use my skills and knowledge to eliminate language barriers and become more culturally competent.”

Marthe Pierre shared: “The Hausman Fellowship is a ladder that provided a stepping-stone to my success. It allowed me to acquire skills, knowledge and confidence. It has also ignited my desire to one day become an extraordinary nurse who is culturally competent and compassionate.”

Jeffrey Jean of UMass Boston expressed that the program has reaffirmed his knowledge and his clinical experience. “Being able to walk in the shoes of a different RN has allowed me to re-invent myself. I have learned an abundance of new skills and techniques and have acquired a vast amount of knowledge. I believe that an important component of being an effective caregiver is to know what my strengths are.”

Sedina Giaff of Simmons College declared “It is with great pride that I introduce myself as a Hausman Fellow. This has been the best summer of my life. My experience as a Hausman Fellow has made me a better nursing student both clinically and intellectually. I have a better understanding and greater interest in the nursing profession. I am confidently looking forward to the coming school year and sharing my experiences with my classmates.”

Lauren Kang-Kim of Linfield College in Oregon had this to say: “Now I am reborn as a Hausman Fellow. For the last 5 weeks I found my own powerful voice and I am now proud of my minority identity. The Fellowship has opened the doors for me to become not just a better nurse, but a better person with a deeper understanding and respect for human beings.

Rosalee Tayag and Anna Diane of UMass Boston and Boston College respectively, stated that the Fellowship enhanced their leadership, critical thinking, assessment and communication skills; and  taught them to be more culturally sensitive. They also emphasized that they learned to work as members of a team more effectively.

Former 2010 Hausman awardees, Jason Villarreal and Penina Marengue, congratulated the Student Nurses on their graduation and cautioned them to use their new-found knowledge to provide competent care to their patients and uphold the good name of the Hausman Fellows.

Former Hausman Fellows include: Frew Fikru, Alexis Seggalye, and Christopher Uyiguosa Isibor 2008.  Chantel Watson and Stephanie Poon 2009.

The Hausman Fellowship is posted by Spring of each year at www.mghcareers.org. Qualified minority candidates should be in good academic standing (3.0 GPA or higher) and entering their senior year of a BSN program in the Fall.