The Impact Of HBCUs On Black Representation In Nursing

Black Americans make up 13.6% of the U.S. population but only 6.7% of working registered nurses. Closing that gap helps ease the nursing shortage and improves outcomes, especially for Black patients. Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) do a disproportionate share of that work.

Why representation matters

Most research on race concordance, when provider and patient share the same race, focuses on physicians, but the logic extends to nurses. The evidence is strong:

• Asian, Black, and Hispanic patients are more likely to seek preventive care when their provider shares their racial or ethnic background.
• Black infant mortality declines significantly with physician-patient racial concordance.
• For Black men, racial concordance could cut mortality by 19%.
• Among Black mental health providers, 83% say racial concordance matters to patient outcomes.

Recruiting and retaining Black nurses is one of the clearest levers for narrowing health disparities.

How HBCUs move the numbers

HBCUs are just 2% of U.S. colleges, but in 2017 they produced 6.7% of all new BSNs, and 51% of those graduates were Black. They punch far above their weight in building the Black nursing workforce, and the top programs keep investing in teaching capacity and health-equity innovation:

• Prairie View A&M University. Its curriculum targets conditions that disproportionately affect Black communities, with courses in health disparities, environmental health nursing, care of special populations, and nursing for the LGBTQ+ population.
• Winston-Salem State University. Its School of Health Sciences is partnering with the UNC School of the Arts to add virtual reality to the nursing program.
• Claflin University. Its Institute of Teaching and Nursing runs summer institutes that introduce high school students to nursing careers.
• Langston University. It posts a 91% NCLEX pass rate, above the national average, with a focus on culturally appropriate care across the lifespan.

Why attend an HBCU for nursing

HBCU nursing programs deliver real advantages. They draw students from every kind of family and often provide extra support for first-generation college students. Black students at HBCUs are more likely to graduate than peers at comparable predominantly white institutions, and a Gallup poll found HBCU graduates report higher wellbeing, especially financial. HBCUs also tend to cost less.

These programs put diverse role models in front of students and teach them how to advance as Black nurses. Most were founded to educate Black Americans, and many now enroll a diverse student body and faculty while still centering that mission. Their close-knit alumni networks become a lasting source of mentors and job leads.

A view from the field

Shawn Hendricks, MSN, RN, director of nursing for medicine, cardiac services, and dialysis at the University of Maryland Medical Center, attended an HBCU nursing program. She credits it with opening a door that wasn't otherwise open.

The program "provided a gateway into the profession for myself and other generations of African-American nurses with limited financial resources and educational options," she says. "This was a career, not just a job, with benefits, growth, and retirement otherwise not often available to African Americans."

The biggest advantage, she says, was being taught and mentored by educators who looked like her and shared her values, in an affordable program that ran from the baccalaureate through the doctoral level. That community matters: "HBCU nursing programs provide comfort, nurturing, and belonging because they understand the anxiety and stress of being a minority in the medical profession. Students move forward without the worry of discrimination and racial bias from peers and instructors."

The effect reaches past the individual nurse. "It gives the nurse and the community a sense of pride to be served by people of the same cultural and ethnic background. It opens up possibilities for minorities who didn't think a nursing career was possible."

How HBCUs can keep building support

Other schools can learn from what HBCUs do well and partner with them to share resources. In Hendricks' experience, "HBCU nursing programs address racism in nursing schools and promote diversity by including these topics in their curriculum, workshops, and institutional policies." The HBCU Learning Collaborative is one model, meeting regularly to share what works in helping students finish their education and pass the NCLEX-RN.

Resources for Black nurses

National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing. Established by the American Nurses Association, the National Black Nurses Association, and other partners, it offers resources and concrete steps for nurses to confront racism.

Dismantling Racism Works (dRworks). An online workbook with extensive tools for understanding and undoing the effects of racism.

National Black Nurses Association. With more than 200,000 members and 115 local chapters, NBNA provides networking, publications, scholarships, and professional development for Black nursing students and nurses.

Society for the Analysis of African American Public Health Issues. SAAPHI focuses on education, research, mentoring, and policy to advance health equity across the African diaspora.