Blacks and African Americans in Public Health in Nursing Doctoral Education: Career Pathways and Strategies for Success in STEM

• In Event: Success in STEM Graduate Programs

Abstract

According to the 2017 National Science Foundation Survey there were 2,509 health sciences doctoral degrees conferred. Slightly less than 10% of these degrees represent Blacks/African Americans. Black/African Americans in nursing and public health have the highest representation among historically marginalized doctoral degree recipients, 50 and 98, respectively. When compared to white counterparts, Blacks/African Americans receive less than half of the doctoral degrees represented by whites, 326 and 189. Significant marginalization remains among Blacks/African Americans in these fields and this imposes potential risk on doctoral degree attainment and the development of future nursing and public health practitioners/scholars. Black/African American doctoral degree completers are needed for increased representation in public health and nursing fields.

Authors

• Pamela P. Felder-Small, Independent Scholar

• Natasha Patterson, The College of New Jersey

• Yolanda Nelson, The College of New Jersey