NURSING FACULTY DIVERSITY: BARRIERS AND PERCEPTIONS ON RECRUITMENT, HIRING AND RETENTION.

The purpose of this study was to identify perceptions of nursing faculty on the barriers to recruitment, hiring, and retention of minority nursing faculty who are Black/African-American, and Hispanic/Latina (o) in order to understand the current dynamics limiting the representation of these two minority groups in nursing education. The design was a descriptive, comparative design, using an online survey. A multi-stage sampling method selected 667 nursing faculty from 56 colleges, resulting in a final sample size of 103 (15.4%). The two minority groups reported physical appearance and speech pattern had an affect on being hired. In comparing the perceptions of White, Black/African-American, and His panic/Latina (o) nurse faculty on recruitment, hiring, and retention issues, there were two statistically significant items. Responses on the major barriers to retention indicated six items were statistically significant. In conclusion, Black/African-American and Hispanic/Latina (o) nurse faculty indicated the barriers and perceptions to hiring and retention that still affect them, and confirmed the lack of financial assistance and mentors continues to be key issues for hiring and retention.