To improve the diversity of the nursing profession, we need to start with a commitment to a holistic admissions process. We need to shift away from the traditional emphasis on grades and test scores to a holistic evaluation of an individual’s experiences and attributes in conjunction with academic performance.
The stories shared in this video are examples of resilient, passionate, and caring individuals with a shared dream of becoming a registered nurse. The holistic admissions process gives schools the opportunity to learn how an individual’s experiences and attributes, like those that Eileen, Rebecca, and Murinda share in this video, have shaped them into excellent candidates for the nursing program. We must improve the diversity of the nursing profession, not only for the benefit of the communities we serve but for all of us in the nursing profession.
Diversity enriches all our lives, and we become stronger, smarter, and more compassionate nurses.
The practice of Holistic Admissions is increasing throughout our universities and colleges. It is a needed change to improve the process of choosing nursing school candidates and increase the diversity of the student body and profession. We are glad that you are taking the time to educate yourself about Holistic Admissions. In this presentation we will share why a Holistic Admissions process is important and how it differs from the traditional application process. You will learn about EAM – experiences, attributes, and metrics and how these components are used during the Holistic Admissions process. At the conclusion of this presentation, you will be well prepared to put your best self forward in your application to nursing school or the next step in your career.
While there are many nursing programs in Washington State, the following four LPN to BSN programs are part of a Premera Blue Cross Grant supporting this work. Links to each school involved in the Premera Blue Cross Grant have been provided below.
Columbia Basin College Nursing Programs: https://www.columbiabasin.edu/learn/d…
Green River College Nursing Programs: https://www.greenriver.edu/students/a…
Saint Martin’s University Nursing Programs: https://www.stmartin.edu/academics/al…
Wenatchee Valley College: https://www.wvc.edu/academics/alliedh…
The Premera Blue Cross is acknowledged for its generosity in funding $1.8M to support an LPN-to-BSN Pathway grant which was awarded to Dr. Mary Baroni, PI (UW Bothell), and Co-PIs, Dr. Kristen Hosey (WVC), Dr. Kara LaValley (GRC), Dr. Kimberley Tucker (CBC) and Dr. Teri Woo (Saint Martin University). We are grateful that these individuals are leading the way to building holistic admissions into their programs and allocated support from the grant for the development of this presentation. Also, a special thanks goes to Dr. Diana Meyer and Tiffany Smith-Fromm for their work on this presentation.