Background: There is an under-representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic nurses in senior positions within the UK's national healthcare system.
Objectives: To understand student nurses' perspectives on the role of race and ethnicity on career expectations, course learning and delivery, and areas for additional training and skill development for all nurses in understanding structural inequalities in healthcare.
Design: Qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews.
Settings: University in south-east England, UK.
Participants: 15 nursing students (14 women, one man) from a range of ethnic backgrounds, age-groups and nationalities.
Methods: Interviews lasting 30-60 min were conducted with nursing students and thematic analyses undertaken.
Results: Four inter-related themes were constructed: altered career expectations, lack of understanding, absent discussion of racism and missing representation. Experiences of racism were not uncommon for students from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and these experiences affected these students' career expectations. Students described a lack of understanding about racism and that it was a taboo topic on their course and in placements.
Conclusions: Findings highlight an urgent need for universities to challenge existing nursing curricula to ensure inclusive, anti-racist educational provision that works equitably for all future nurses. The importance of representation was highlighted among those who deliver courses, in the content of nursing curriculum through inclusive education, decolonised curricula and with student voices embedded to enable the development of culturally-competent nursing graduates.
Keywords: Career progression; Nursing education; Qualitative research; Racism.
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