Johnson & Johnson is a Fair360, formerly DiversityInc Top 50 Hall of Fame company.
Johnson & Johnson has shared ways it is investing in student nurses of color to ensure representation and fairness in the healthcare industry.
Nurses spend more time with patients and outnumber doctors 3 to 1, according to the company. More than 40% of Americans identify as people of color, but less than 20% of registered nurses are people of color.
This lack of representation not only hurts nurses who feel isolated but also people from historically underserved populations who may suffer poorer health outcomes.
“As a company, we strongly believe that it’s crucial to help build and support a nursing workforce that mirrors the communities they care for,” said Lynda Benton, Senior Director of Global Community Impact Strategic Initiatives of Johnson & Johnson Nursing.
The company’s Our Race to Health Equity (ORTHE) Initiative has provided more than $1 million in scholarships to underrepresented nursing students through the Foundation of the National Student Nurses Association.
ORTHE is also launching two pilot programs to support nursing students of color:
- The National League for Nursing (NLN) developed a year-long leadership initiative to help students of color smoothly transition from their last year of school to their first clinical job.
- The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) developed an online survey for student nurses to measure their sense of belonging in classrooms, helping foster inclusion on campuses.
