Youth Program...
MAHEC High School Nurse Bridge
Project
 Thank
you for your interest in the MAHEC "High
School Nurse Bridge Project". The overall intent
of the project is to address the educational gaps of
students in the Greater East Los Angeles area by:
- Preparing under represented minority
high school students in math, science and verbal skills
in order to enter schools of nursing with a solid
foundation in these subjects and
- Developing a pipeline program that
will nurture success.
The Multicultural Area Health Education Center
(MAHEC) has received funding to develop a plan
of action which will detail three components whose elements
will include high school enrichment and preparation,
curricular input from the schools of nursing and personnel
trends from health care industry representative (graphic
attached)
As a member of the health care industry your input
is crucial to this project. The product of this project
will provide a plan that will enable students, provide
meaningful curricular input to the high schools and
supply the healthcare industry with a cadre of nurses
that are educated to meet the changing needs of healthcare.
Your advise on curriculum, the effect on industry trends
on nursing and your ability to provide role models to
high school students interested in nursing is a cornerstone
of this project. We hope you are able to attend the
next meeting of the High School Nursing Bridge Project.
MAHEC High School Nurse Bridge Project Background
This project addresses the need for under represented
minorities in nursing by improving the academic preparation
of high school students in math and science before they
apply to the schools of nursing. The changing demographics
in the State of California, and in particular the County
and City of Los Angeles, require the response of public
education, the health care industry and the nursing
profession. The concomitant increased technologic demands
of nursing education and the academic preparation in
math and science result in a pool of students ill prepared
for the rigors of nursing school.
Against a national state and local backdrop of rapid
growth and racial ethnic diversification, nursing trends
call for nurses to participate in the management of
care as peers in interdisciplinary teams and to integrate
clinical knowledge of the community in which they practice.
The increased complexity of the scope of practice for
the registered nurse requires a workforce that has the
capacity to adapt to the changing medical and demographic
environment in the United States. This is particularly
evident in California where the ethnic minorities are
nearing 50% and in Los Angeles where the majority of
enrolled students in the public elementary and high
schools are from underrepresented minority populations.
The broader scope of nursing and increased technological
requirements have accelerated trends that will require
advanced critical thinking, problem solving and data
analysis. A sound foundation in a broad range of basic
sciences; knowledge of behavorial, social and management
sciences and an ability to communicate with an ever
changing and multicultural patient base are vital to
a strong preparatory base.
The trend is that the Baccalaureate education in nursing
with its broader and more scientific curriculum best
fulfils these requirements and provides a sound foundation
for the increased rigor of the profession. A compounding
issue is that the Health Resource Service Administration
projects a registered nursing shortage over the next
five years. California ranked last among the states
in RNs per capita. The statistics document not only
a nursing shortage but also a lack of response to changing
demographics in the country, state and in the greater
Los Angeles area.
In order to prepare a nursing workforce to meet the
challenges of cultural diversity in the delivery of
health care we must prepare under-represented minorities
at the high school level before the need for redemption
occurs in college. The MAHEC High School Nurse Project
will address these gaps in education through high
school interventions that will interface with high schools,
schools of nursing and the health care industry.
Fostering Network for Public
Health
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