Diversity & Inclusion

Nursing Workforce Diversity Conference Career Fair

Commitment to inclusive excellence

The School of Nursing actively fosters an environment of inclusive excellence that welcomes diversity among its students, faculty, and staff. Awareness of diversity and promotion of inclusivity is central to our curricula, social and educational events, and resources and services.

We embrace a definition of diversity that acknowledges the intersection of multiple factors, perspectives, and identities, which include but are not limited to: race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, nationality, religion, age, and physical characteristics.

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Campus Resources

School of Nursing Inclusive Excellence Plan

Featured programs

LGBTQ+ Health Summit

The LGBTQ+ Health Summit educates and activates the health sciences community on LGBTQ+ health and creates new pathways to serve LGBTQ+ communities. The summit scheduled for April 17, 2020, has been cancelled.

STREAM | Success Through Recruitment/ Retention, Engagement, and Mentorship

STREAM is designed to help Native American students attain their goal of becoming professional nurses. STREAM students receive peer support and mentorship as well as academic and financial support.

Our tradition of integrated research and practice focuses on the needs of those whose health status or social condition leaves them vulnerable or places them at risk. Our collaborative innovations increase the diversity of participation in healthcare research, promote sharing of diverse interprofessional perspectives, provide tools to support those working with vulnerable populations, and enhance community engagement.

A tradition of integrated research and practice

A Nursing Student Tells Her Story

BSN graduate Ummulkhair Drammeh talks about studying at UW–Madison alongside her adult children and how her unique perspectives inform her work.

Nursing Strategies for Environmental Justice
Among the Global Health Institute's Spring 2020 Planetary Health Scholars is Jessica LeClair, who examines strategies nursing uses to promote environmental justice in this short video.
Native American Students Connect Through Culture
Each month during the semester, 10 Native American nursing students gather in Cooper Hall to share the highs and lows of the previous month. These gatherings are part of the Success Through Recruitment/Retention, Engagement, and Mentorship (STREAM) program.
History Lessons
Native Americans face some of the highest rates of health disparities and poverty in the country, inequities that indigenous health care expert Dr. John Lowe explored when he visited the School of Nursing to deliver the 20th Littlefield Leadership Lecture.
New Textbook Aims to Close Gaps in LGBTQ Health Curriculum in Medical Schools
UW staff members helped create a new textbook designed to close gaps in knowledge about LGBTQ health. Diversity Officer for the School of Nursing Mel Freitag explains why gaps still exist for LGBTQ health curriculum and how the School of Nursing's LGBTQ+ Health Summit helps educate providers.
More Stories about Diversity & Inclusion

Understanding diversity is an ongoing process that involves lifelong learning, and we believe that this continued learning is crucial to improving health, ensuring equity, and providing a positive, supportive climate in which all individuals are welcome.

Resources for Students & Educators

Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity in Nursing Resources

A collection of downloadable and web-based articles and resources to help understand and teach about diversity issues in nursing. We can help connect you with other resources that you need.

Diversity and Inclusion in Our Curriculum

School of Nursing courses with a social justice focus include 510, 437, and 702.

Diversity and Inclusion for Faculty Development

The Inclusive Excellence in Nursing Certificate for Faculty and Staff is forthcoming. More details available Fall 2019.

Lawton Undergraduate Minority Retention Grant

The Lawton Grant was established to increase the retention and graduation rates of underrepresented students and reduce their loan indebtedness post-graduation. The award can range from $1,000 to $3,000 per academic year, with a maximum of 8 semesters of eligibility.

Multicultural Student Nurse Organization

The Multicultural Student Nurse Organization (MSNO) is a student-founded and -directed organization dedicated to improving students of color’s experiences, expertise, and preparedness for succeeding in nursing curriculum and professions and for caring for patients of all backgrounds across care settings.

People Program at SoN

The School of Nursing works with the PEOPLE (Pre-College Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence) each summer by participating in a health care high school internship and a middle school nursing career exploration workshop. PEOPLE High School and Middle School students learn the roles nurses play through clinical internships, simulation labs, field trips, and interactive activities.

PRIDE in Healthcare

PRIDE in Healthcare is an interdisciplinary health sciences student organization dedicated to improving the healthcare conditions for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and other sexual orientation and/or gender identity minority (LGBTQ+) people. Nurses as well as nursing students, faculty and staff can play an important role in advancing health for the LGBTQ+ community as healthcare providers and patient advocates.

STREAM Program for Native American Nursing Students

Success Through Recruitment/Retention, Engagement, and Mentorship is a program in the UW-Madison School of Nursing designed to help Native American students attain their goal of becoming professional nurses. STREAM students will receive peer support, mentorship, academic and financial support.

More Campus Resources

Student-focused

AHANA (African, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American)-MAPS Pre-Health Society is a student organization to help achieve a well-rounded perspective of the healthcare field, enriching experiences, and community service opportunities.
The Gender and Sexuality Campus Center: Supporting LGBTQ+ students and their communities is a unit of the Division of Student Life
The Multicultural Student Center strengthens and sustains an inclusive campus.

Research-focused

The Community Advisors on Research Design and Strategies (CARDS) provides feedback on how to make research materials clearer and more engaging.
The UW-Madison STEM diversity network is the online destination for resources related to STEM diversity on campus and beyond.

More Annual Events

2019–2020 Equity & Diversity Lunch & Learns

Join our health science community for a series of free workshops and conversations focused on topics related to equity, diversity and inclusion that deeply impact our work and our practice. This series returns in the 2020–2021 academic year.

Native Nations Nursing Summit

The Native Nations Nursing Summit, held in November, focuses on educating nurses about the public health needs of Wisconsin Native communities while highlighting the use of an integrated team model in healthcare.

Nursing Workforce Diversity Conference

Held each February, the Nursing Workforce Diversity Conference and career fair connects nurses, nursing students, healthcare employers and educators in order to develop more inclusive healthcare systems that welcome diverse nurses and enable them to succeed and thrive.

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COVID-19 Notice

Campus events (including Division of Extension sponsored events outside of Dane County) are canceled through at least June 30. Even if an event is not labeled as canceled, it is either canceled, postponed or modified to online only. Stay up to date at the COVID-19 campus website.