We reviewed literature about antiracist strategies in nursing education, and health care education more widely, revealing several antiracism strategies that the SCBScN Program could implement. They are highlighted below.
Antiracism training for faculty (Bell, 2020; Bristol et al., 2020; Coleman, 2020; Fontenot & McMurray, 2020; Sotto-Santiago et al, 2021; Zappas et al., 2021)
Mandatory yearly course for all faculty (Coleman, 2020).
Optional secondary course for faculty with specialized interests (Coleman, 2020).
Antiracism training is "a continuous process, not a one-time event" (Bristol et al., 2020, p. 107).
Regular open "forums to discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion" (Zappas et al, 2021, p. 227).
Training creates "a common language and foundation for educators to build upon" (Coleman, 2020, p. 643).
Antiracism "among faculty begins with deconstructing internal racism" (Fontenot & McMurray, p. 276), which can be facilitated through faculty training.
Education must be directed to faculty's "internalized white supremacist ideology and persistent racial privilege" (Bell, 2020, p. 9).
Antiracism training for students (Coleman, 2020; Zappas et al., 2021)
For all incoming students (Coleman, 2020).
In-person, hybrid, or online delivery (Coleman, 2020).
No-tolerance policies for bias and discrimination events (Sotto-Santiago et al., 2021)
Enable students to easily and safely report racism, bias, discrimination, and microaggressions.
Consequences for perpetrators should be transparent (Sotto-Santiago et al., 2021).
Reporting should be confidential and meaningful (Sotto-Santiago et al., 2021)
All students should be made aware of way(s) to report (Sotto-Santiago et al., 2021).
Recruit and retain faculty of colour (Bell, 2020; Bristol et al., 2020; Fontenot & McMurray, 2020; Zappas et al., 2021))
"Underrepresentation of minority nursing faculty in largely white academic institutions hinders the success of minority students in nursing" (Zappas et al., 2021, p. 228).
Having racially diverse faculty impacts the self-efficacy of BIPOC nursing students (Fontenot & McMurray, 2020).
"Diverse faculty can bridge cultural gaps and improve communication and trust" (Fontenot & McMurray, 2020, p. 276) among BIPOC students.
This involves a review of faculty/employee policies including path to tenure, pay, and recognition equity (Fontenot & McMurray, 2020).
"Recruitment and retention initiatives need to be redesigned in a manner that dismantles hegemonic and narrow views of what nursing entails and who is able to be a nurse" (Bell, 2020, p. 5).
Mentorship (Bristol et al., 2020; Fontenot & McMurray, 2020; White et al., 2020; Zappas et al., 2021)
Mentorship between faculty and students of colour fostered presence, trust, and genuine caring for student success, while enhancing nursing values, skills, and knowledge within students (Bristol et al., 2020; White et al., 2021).
Mentorship fosters communication and social contact between students and faculty, which can "facilitate the discussion of concerns, issues, and ideas" (Englund, 2018, p. 168).
"Mentoring is also associated with a number of positive psychological outcomes including enhanced self-image and self-efficacy and the promotion of professional leadership skill development" (Englund, 2018, p. 168).
Close encounters or mentorship from BIPOC faculty led BIPOC students to believe that they can have a career in nursing (Bristol et al., 2020; Fontenot & McMurray, 2020).
Create effective learning environments (Elks et al., 2020)
Creation of relational or high-context relationships, as opposed to transactional or low-context relationships between faculty and students (Elks et al, 2020).
Characterized by trust of the faculty and of the evaluation processes by students (Elks et al., 2020).
Develop "a uniquely nurturing environment with high expectations, sustained support, and strong and lasting faculty-student interactions" (Elks et al., 2020, p. S89).
Employ a growth mindset: "all belong here and can succeed" (Elks et al., 2020, p. S90).
Learning in relationships between students and faculty and among students and faculty through longitudinal learning communities (Elks et al., 2020).
Student performance should be closely monitored and students provided extra resources reflexively and rapidly (relating to equity) (Elks et al., 2020).
Create culturally safe and culturally brave learning environments (Moffitt & Durnford, 2021)
Done through genuineness, respect, and removal of all judgement; disrupting dissonance by openly attending to tension, diversity, and power dynamics; addressing history and engaging with Indigenous worldviews; and transforming via relationality between and among students and faculty (Moffitt & Durnford, 2021).
"Brave space means accepting the risk of being in the environment whist knowing there is support ... [through brave space] we bring equity and enable social justice in our classroom" (Moffitt & Durnford, 2021).
Build relationships with stakeholders in communities of colour (Coleman, 2020; Elks et al., 2020; Zappas et al., 2021)
Creates rich clinical experiences and exposure to unfamiliar cultures for students (Coleman, 2020).
Better equips students and faculty to build trust and manage racial inequities (Coleman, 2020).
Ensures students and faculty are "of the community, in the community, and with the community" (Elks et al., 2020, p. S89) to help create healthier communities.
Helps students to identify and confront their biases and build skills to navigate these biases (Elks et al., 2020).
Employ anti-racist and anti-oppressive pedagogies (Bell, 2020)
These pedagogies manifest as non-domineering, supportive, collegial, reflexive, and humble relationships and engagements with students.
White faculty should become anti-racist allies who speak and act against systems of oppression, as well as modeling this allyship to white students (Bell, 2020).
For example: trauma-informed practice, critical social theory, critical race theory, non-essentialism.
Evaluate our diversity statement and our commitment to antiracism work (Zappas et al., 2021)
Form a diversity, equity, and inclusion committee to look at how concepts relates to anti-racism could be threaded throughout the curriculum (Zappas et al., 2021)
Use specific, direct, and explicit language when discussing the oppressions we seek to disrupt (Bell, 2020)