AACN Position Statement - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Academic Nursing - MaAACN Position Statement - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Academic Nursing - MaAACN Position Statement - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Academic Nursing - MaAACN Position Statement - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Academic Nursing

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Academic Nursing

AACN Position Statement

As the collective voice for academic nursing, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing

(AACN) serves as the catalyst for excellence and innovation in nursing education, research, and

practice. The values of diversity, inclusion, and equity are central to advancing AACN’s mission.

This AACN position statement is intended to articulate the vision and principles of AACN

associated with these values, which may be reflected in similar statements by AACN members.

Introduction

Relevant research affirms the core interests of AACN members in advancing diversity, inclusion,

and equity in academic nursing. As reflected below, those interests center on many facets of

nursing education, central to the success of nursing schools in 21

Century America. They

reflect the need to:

1. Improve the quality of education by enhancing the capacity of academic nursing to

maximize learning opportunities and experiences for students and faculty, alike, which

depend in significant ways on learning from individuals with diverse life experiences,

perspectives, and backgrounds.

2. Address pervasive inequities in health care by ensuring the preparation of nurses and

other healthcare professionals able to meet the needs of all individuals in an increasingly

diverse American society.

3. Enhance the civic readiness and engagement potential of nursing students who will be

in positions of leadership in health care, as well as in society, more broadly.

As used in this position statement, diversity references a broad range of individual, population,

and social characteristics, including but not limited to age; sex; race; ethnicity; sexual

orientation; gender identity; family structures; geographic locations; national origin; immigrants

and refugees; language; physical, functional, and learning abilities; religious beliefs; and

socioeconomic status. Inclusion represents environmental and organizational cultures in which

faculty, students, staff, and administrators with diverse characteristics thrive. Inclusive

environments require intentionality and embrace differences, not merely tolerate them. Everyone

works to ensure the perspectives and experiences of others are invited, welcomed,

acknowledged, and respected in inclusive environments. More broadly, equity is interrelated

with diversity and inclusion. Equity is the ability to recognize the differences in the resources or

knowledge needed to allow individuals to fully participate in society, including access to higher

education, with the goal of overcoming obstacles to ensure fairness (Kranich, 2001). To have

equitable systems, all people should be treated fairly, unhampered by artificial barriers,

stereotypes or prejudices (Cooper, 2016).

Improving the Quality of Nursing Education

When diversity is integrated within inclusive educational environments with equitable systems in

place, assumptions are challenged, perspectives are broadened, and socialization across a variety

of groups occurs, resulting in intellectual and cognitive benefits for all learners (Hurtado, 2005;

Chang, Denson, Saenz, & Misa, 2006; Saha, Guiton, Wimmers, & Wilkerson, 2008). In diverse

and inclusive environments, students, staff, faculty, and administrators recognize the value of

and need for diversity to achieve excellence in teaching, learning, research, scholarship, service,

and practice. As academic nursing becomes more inclusive in the recruitment of diverse

learners, faculty may need to acquire new knowledge, skills, and attitudes to foster success of the

student learner (International Council of Nurses, 2008).

Notably, realizing the benefits of diversity in the profession of nursing depends in part on

expansion of the traditional pool of nursing school applicants and the employment of faculty and

staff by appropriately defining variables reflecting the value and diversity of the human

experience. With respect to students, in particular, leadership and faculty should examine how

potential student applicants are assessed for meeting qualifications and how merit (or the

likelihood of success in nursing) is evaluated. The measures of an applicant’s readiness for

nursing education and preparedness for practice should extend beyond reliance on specific

quantitative data such as standardized test scores and grade point averages, to include other valid

and reliable measures of prospective success. Factors such as leadership skills, ability to

overcome obstacles, strengths, communication and language skills, ability to gain entrée into

underserved communities, other transferable skills and abilities, and prior life experiences of

individuals, may be relevant when determining how the applicant might contribute to the

profession and/or to the academic environment of a particular institution (Glazer & Bankston,

2014).

In addition, academic leadership and faculty should examine any unconscious and conscious

biases that may undermine efforts to enhance diversity, inclusion, and equity, including the use

of everyday verbal, nonverbal, intentional or non- intentional messages which devalue the

perspectives, experiences, and/or feelings of individuals or groups. These biases may restrict

academic nursing’s ability to attract and retain a more diverse student body and to recruit and

promote diverse leaders, faculty, and academic support staff.

Addressing Healthcare Inequities

AACN recognizes the impact of shifting U.S. population demographics, a health system

challenged by workforce shortages, and persistent health inequities on academic nursing.

Therefore, AACN and its member schools commit to accelerating diversity, inclusion, and equity

initiatives to prepare the current and future nursing workforce to be reflective of the society it

serves while simultaneously fulfilling societal expectations and needs (Relf, 2016; Danek &

Borraya, 2012).

Healthcare reform has revitalized efforts to examine how our nation’s health system should

evolve to meet the needs of all persons while being representative of the population served

(Danek & Borrayo, 2012). By 2044, more than half of the United States population will belong

to a census grouping other than non-Hispanic White (Colby & Ortman, 2015). By 2060, one in

five Americans will be foreign born. Health inequities, including diminished life expectancy and

poor health outcomes, vary based on race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity,

age, and socioeconomic status. The social determinants of health – the conditions in which

people are born, grow, learn, live, work, play, worship, and age – coupled with the distribution of

money, power and resources are primarily responsible for these inequities (World Health

Organization, 2016; Healthy People 2020, 2016).

Advancing Civic Leadership and Engagement

The desired nursing workforce that results from creating more diverse and inclusive nursing

schools would be better prepared to advocate with and for others—including engaging with

community leaders to work toward achieving equity in health and wellbeing The benefits of

diversity and inclusivity in education programs also can help prepare health professionals to take

action on or address the social determinants of health described above. (National Academies of

Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2016, p. 11-20).

Conclusion

To improve the quality of nursing education, ameliorate health inequities, and advance leadership

in the profession and society at large, the values and principles of diversity, inclusion, and equity

must remain mission central. These values and principles should be a part of the ongoing

dialogue of AACN-member nursing schools, which are responsible for defining their particular

educational missions and then engaging in the work to make those visions become a reality.

Nursing school leaders, administrators, faculty, staff, and students must continue to

collaboratively engage in efforts to recruit, retain, and graduate students who will advance

institutional missions, which should address issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity.

AACN recognizes diversity, inclusion, and equity as critical to nursing education and

fundamental to developing a nursing workforce able to provide high quality, culturally

appropriate, and congruent health care in partnership with individuals, families, communities,

and populations. AACN is committed to preparing a community of scholars, clinicians,

educators, and leaders who fully value the importance of diversity, inclusion, and equity to

promote the health of the nation and the world. AACN will advocate for advancing diversity,

As outlined in each of the AACN Essentials documents, which delineate the curriculum content

and expected competencies of graduates of baccalaureate and higher degree nursing programs,

administrators, faculty, staff, and students in schools of nursing are charged to advocate for

social justice, including a commitment to promoting the health of all people and the elimination

inclusion, and equity in nursing through its public policy initiatives and in its regulatory

advocacy, in collaboration with the Tri-Council for Nursing and other health professions

of health inequities. Social justice is acting in accordance with fair treatment regardless of

economic status, race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity (AACN,

2008). In the pursuit of social justice, institutions, systems, structures, policies and processes

should advance fairness and equity (Buettner-Schmidt & Lobo, 2012).

education organizations. It is imperative that academic nursing advance human rights and reduce

health inequities by developing a nursing workforce that is compassionate and respectful of the

inherent dignity, worth, and unique attributes of every person as outlined in the American Nurses

Association’s Code of Ethics for Nurses (2015) and Nursing’s Social Policy Statement

(ANA,2010).

References

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and Professional Nursing Practice. Washington DC.

American Nurses Association. (2015). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements.

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http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/EthicsStandards/CodeofEthicsforNur

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American Nurses Association. (2010). Nursing’s Social Policy Statement: The Essence of the

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Chang, MJ., Denson, N., Saenz, V., Misa, K. (2006). The educational benefits of sustaining

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International Council of Nurses (ICN). (2008). Nursing care continuum – framework and

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Kranich, N. (2001). Libraries and Democracy, Chicago, IL: American Library Association,

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National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. A framework for educating

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HealthProfessionals-to-Address-the-Social-Determinants-of-Health.aspx

Relf, M. V. (2016). Advancing diversity in academic nursing. Journal of Professional Nursing.

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Saha, S., Guiton, G., Wimmers, P., & Wilkerson, L. (2008). Student body racial and ethnic

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World Health Organization. (2016). What are the social determinants? Accessed online at

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AACN Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Group

Carolina G. Huerta, EdD, RN, FAAN (Chair)

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Azita Emami, PhD, RN, FAAN

University of Washington

Greer Glazer, PhD, RN, FAAN

University of Cincinnati

Judith Martin-Holland, PhD, RN, FAAN

University of California, San Francisco

Judith Lewis, EdD, RN

D’Youville College

Michael Relf, PhD, RN, FAAN

Duke University

Edilma L. Yearwood, PhD, RN, FAAN

Georgetown University

Lin Zhan, PhD, RN, FAAN

University of Memphis

AACN Staff

Vernell DeWitty, PhD, RN

Endorsed on March 20, 2017 by AACN Members

Position statement titled changed in February 2021 to reflect current terminology. The original

title was Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity in Academic Nursing.