| Although minority populations continue to increase per recent U.S. census data, the number of minority nursing students has not increased. Moreover, foreign-born nursing students' academic success is much lower than that of minority nursing students in general. The majority of research has approached this disparity in general, but little research is available the attrition for foreign-born African nursing students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the foreign-born students' experiences and interpret the support they received from nursing faculty and peers and the impact they attributed to that perceived support on their program completion at Minnesota community colleges. A total of 10 nursing students who were born in Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, or Ghana participated in semi-structured, group interviews to provide descriptions of their perceptions and experiences. The participants identified that the lack of faculty support presented multiple barriers to their success; that they felt excluded, undervalued, and unwelcomed by their majority peers (with a few exceptions); and that the lack of support by faculty and fellow students complicated and increased the difficulty of their challenging nursing program and successful goal achievement. Data regarding the experiences and perceptions of foreign-born, Kenyan, Ethiopian, Nigerian, and Ghanaian nursing students' can inform faculty and administrators at colleges and universities, so they may better assist students in their nursing programs and improve the overall success of foreign-born, African nursing students. |
