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UMSON selected to participate in pilot Building a Culture of Belonging in Academic Nursing program.
According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), inclusive learning environments and a sense of belonging are essential to the development of future nurses, and both have an impact on a nurse’s career trajectory. Students of color often have college experiences that are significantly different from most of their peers, which can lead to lower graduation rates. To help address this disparity, AACN has initiated an 18-month project titled Building a Culture of Belonging in Academic Nursing. With funding from Johnson & Johnson, AACN designed this national initiative to collect and analyze data they believe can lead to more inclusive learning environments and build a more diverse nursing workforce. Following a call for pilot schools that netted nearly 250 applicants, the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) was one of 50 schools of nursing in 28 states AACN chose to participate in the pilot.