UTA CONHI Selected by AACN for National Initiative

Monday, Aug 29, 2022

Chosen from among more than 200 schools, The University of Texas at Arlington was one of 50 schools selected to participate in The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) national initiative. The Leading Across Multidimensional Perspectives (LAMP) Culture and Climate Survey is intended to aid inclusive learning environments and build a more diverse nursing workforce.

The AACN is the national association for nursing education that represents more than 850 schools of nursing. Its mission is to establish quality standards for nursing education, influence the advancement of the profession, and promote support for education, research, and practice.

Meagan Rogers, associate chair for undergraduate nursing, is among the CONHI nursing faculty that played a role in leading UTA to participate in this project.

“This Culture and Climate Survey is used to assess inclusivity in learning environments in schools of nursing,” said Dr. Rogers. “We submitted an application to participate as a pilot school because the project’s goal is in alignment with numerous strategic initiatives occurring in undergraduate nursing, including the initiation of our undergraduate DEI subcommittee and our LGBTQIA+ student organization.”

The AACN created a digital platform to conduct this survey which will collect data within college classrooms to gain students, faculty, and staff perceptions. The five areas studied will be fair treatment and observations of discrimination, belongingness, value of diversity and inclusion, campus services, and clinical training. 

“We are working on institutional review board approval and site agreements now,” Rogers said. “We will deploy a separate survey to students and faculty in the Fall, which includes questions related to perceptions of culture and climate, fair treatment, belongingness, and the perceived value of diversity and inclusion.”

The LAMP Culture and Climate Survey will be the first major initiative for the undergraduate DEI Sub-Committee, a committee that focuses on creating a more supportive and fairer environment for everyone. 

“The data from this tool collected from faculty and students provides a deeper understanding of how our learning environment impacts student experiences and outcomes,” said Rogers. “We plan to use this data to initiate change, target areas of growth, and most importantly, improve student outcomes.”

The submission from CONHI was a group effort among CONHI undergraduate nursing faculty and included Michael Holmes, Kita Hurst, and Phyllis Pastwa.

-Written by Midori Hrinda, College of Nursing and Health Innovation