Ensuring cultural diversity among California nurses.

The California Strategic Planning Committee for Nursing cultural diversity work group surveyed deans and directors from RN prelicensure and vocational nurse education programs in California in 1998. With a 49% response rate, key survey findings were that 48% of programs were actively recruiting ethnically diverse students using a variety of strategies; various approaches were being used to retain students; barriers to student success were primarily financial and educational; and most programs included curricular content and programming designed to ensure culturally competent and sensitive graduates.