Enhancing Success in Advanced Practice Nursing: a grant-funded project.

The Enhancing Success in Advanced Practice Nursing (ESAPN) Project is designed to improve access to a diverse and culturally competent and sensitive health professions workforce by increasing the number of Hispanic, African-American and Asian nurses recruited, enrolled in and graduated from the MSN program at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Nursing (UMDNJ-SN). In addition, the project plan includes the development and implementation of a comprehensive program that incorporates academic support services, career advisement and mentoring activities to retain and graduate an increased number of culturally, racially and ethnically diverse advanced practice nurses for the State of New Jersey. The project also seeks to improve the quality of care by preparing advanced practice nurses to provide culturally competent and sensitive care by assuring that the MSN curriculum includes content and clinical experiences relevant to the development of cultural competence. Faculty participation in workshops, designed to increase knowledge of cultural competence, is a key component. The success of the project will be evaluated using a variety of measures that track increases in the number of diverse students recruited and enrolled, the number of students accessing services associated with the ESAPN program, and increased retention and graduation of Hispanic, African-American and Asian nurses prepared as advanced practice nurses.