Successfully Increasing the Diversity of the Nursing Workforce in Rural South Carolina

This innovative project was funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Nursing Workforce Diversity (NWD) grant (2017), with a resultant increase in the diversity of the nursing workforce in the rural Pee Dee Region of South Carolina. The project provided resources to at-risk students (n = 100) and compared participants with a control group (n = 92). The project provided participants mentors, financial assistance, experiential learning, advising, and professional development. The project descriptively compared program outcome benchmarks between groups. The project's multifaceted approach was key to success, providing implications for other programs to increase diversity of the nursing workforce.