Yale And Howard Universities Join Forces To Eliminate Health Disparities
Citation
. Yale And Howard Universities Join Forces To Eliminate Health Disparities. The Internet Journal of Advanced Nursing Practice. 2000 Volume 5 Number 1.
Abstract
Yale And Howard Universities Join Forces To Eliminate Health Disparities
Figure 1
New Haven, CT – The Yale School of Nursing (YSN) received high praise from Dr. Patricia Grady, Director of the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) for its leadership role in addressing health disparities through YSN's Yale Howard Scholars Program.
Beginning in the summer of 2000, the Yale Howard Scholars Program was designed to address the challenge of health disparities by increasing the interest of nursing students from under-represented populations in pursuing advanced careers in nursing. Through mentorship, training, and research opportunities for minority nursing students, the Yale Howard Scholars Program has enriched the chosen scholars' understanding of the role of the advanced practice registered nurse and the importance of clinical nursing research.
Figure 2
“The objective of the program was to develop a mutually enriching relationship between Yale and Howard,” explained Dr. Margaret Grey, YSN Associate Dean for Research Affairs. Indeed, the program is very much a two way street. By combining YSN research experience and Howard expertise in doing multi-cultural and multi-ethnic work, the program benefits both institutions tremendously.”
The Program's original design involved an intensive 6 week summer internship in which Howard students formed a close working relationship with an experienced faculty research mentor at Yale. Each student identified an area of interest, and pursued that interest through hands-on research, seminars, and shadowing of advanced practice nurses. However, in 2001 the Yale Howard Scholars Program received additional funding from the National Institutes of Health's Center for Minority Health and NINR, allowing the program to expand into a year-round experience. The six Howard scholars who participated in the summer of 2001 have continued their work through ongoing mentoring from Yale faculty, and the development of a student research project directed by a Howard faculty member during their senior year at Howard University.
Figure 3
“The Yale-Howard Scholars program is brilliant,” commented Larry Scahill, one of the seven YSN faculty members who mentored Yale Howard Scholars in the summer of 2001. “We need to attract individuals of color to our profession. We also need to affirm that some of these young people should continue on to graduate studies.” Dr. Scahill has continued mentoring a Howard scholar, Stephanie Mathis, throughout the academic year, staying in close contact as she develops her research project entitled “Psychopharmacoepidemiology: Psychotropic Drug Use and Minority Children.”
Five other Howard Scholars are currently working on their senior research projects under the mentorship of Yale faculty.
“The Yale Howard Scholars program is among the celebrated firsts at YSN,” said Dr. Margaret Grey. “With continued support from the National Institutes of Health's Center for Minority Health and NINR, YSN has lead by example, creating a successful model for other institutions to follow in developing partnerships to increase minority representation, and ultimately to reduce health disparities.”
“After my experience as a Yale Howard scholar, I returned to Howard with an incredible wealth of information,” explained Nicole Laing, a summer 2000 participant of the Yale Howard Scholars Program who enrolled as a first year master's student at YSN this Fall. “Not only did I gain theoretical knowledge, but also the determination to take what I've learned into the community.”
