A Nursing Workforce Initiative: Increasing the Latino/Hispanic BSN Workforce

Abstract

Of the 3 million nurses in the United States, only 5.4% of registered nurses are Latinos. This is a grave concern since the U.S. Census' projected increase of Latinos in the United States is expected to be 28% by 2060. In 2010, the Institute of Medicine report recommended a diverse workforce in health care to improve health outcomes. However, the increase in the Latino nursing workforce continues to be low compared to with the population of Latinos in the country. The National Association of Hispanic Nurses and the University of Alabama partnered to increase the number of baccalaureate-prepared registered nurses in the workforce. BAMA-Latino Project (BAMA-L) is a Health Resources and Services Administration-funded program to increase the diversity of registered nurses in the nursing workforce. The purpose of this article is to present the development and implementation of BAMA-L.

Keywords: Latino/Hispanic registered nurse; RN to BSN program; nursing education; nursing workforce diversity.