Doctoral research yields insights into black nurse leadership

A 2015 benchmarking study found while minorities represent 32% of hospital patients, they “comprise only 14% of hospital board members, 11% of executive leadership positions, and 19% of first- and mid-level managers." Tamara Bland, EdD, RN, director of the RN-BSN program at Dominican University in River Forest, Ill., explored this disparity in her research. In 2017, she undertook a mixed method, explanatory correlational study to try to better understand potential barriers to black nurses’ attainment of leadership roles. Inadequate mentorship and financial constraints were among the top factors affecting black nurses. Survey respondents said they wanted to pursue higher education but could not afford to or were leery of going into debt. Bland also called out two other factors: a lack of institutional support in the areas of leadership and research, and self-efficacy, the belief that one has the capacity for leadership. (HealthLeaders Media story, 10/4/19)