Exploring barriers and opportunities to black nurses’ professional development

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) nurses with a particular focus on black nurses, when applying to access training and professional development activities within the existing National Health Service (NHS) structure. Research has shown that BME nurses are less likely to be selected for training and development programmes when compared to their white counterparts which impacts on the quality of care given to patients. This study was conducted as a baseline to ascertain the current position.
This project was carried out using data from an analysis of survey questionnaires completed by trained nurses across all nursing bands, interviews, a review of the relevant literature and reflective journal. The findings suggest that despite interventions being in place to promote equal opportunities, BME nurses are still subject to oppressive practices which is far from improving.
It has been concluded that Black nurses in particular, have to be more active in addressing the oppressive practices they face through building resilience and wellbeing, as failure to act is likely to result in professional stagnation. Based on the results of data from survey questionnaires, interviews, review of the literature and reflective journal, a conceptual model of issues to be considered in the development of a framework has been proposed to help facilitate improvement in training opportunities for BME nurses. The framework has been devised on the basis that taking a collective approach to a longstanding problem to include stakeholders such as BME nurses, NHS Trusts and the Government, may help towards improving training opportunities for BME nurses. The framework has not been tested.