Video Features SMU’s Nursing Seminar for Underrepresented Students

For the past three years, Samuel Merritt University (SMU) has offered a free three-day workshop geared to attract African American, Latino, and male students who will one day help diversify the healthcare profession – and in turn, help eradicate health disparities.

The Nursing Success! Seminar is the only of its kind offered by a healthcare university that is designed entirely to support, encourage, and recruit underrepresented students.

“Our responsibility to do what we can to diversify the nursing workforce is massive,” said Aara Amidi-Nouri, Chair of Bachelor of Science Nursing program. “And we are up to that challenge.”

SMU graduates an estimated 500 bachelor and graduate-degree students from the School of Nursing each year and is consistently one of the largest providers of new registered nurses into the California healthcare system annually.

This year, 44 students attended the seminar, which was modeled as a “mini-boot camp” for nursing students, said admissions counselor Rosa Alvarado, who organized the event.

Many of the attendees also agreed to be interviewed for this video, which was created by Retainer Media of Oakland, CA.

“Prospective students who attend the Nursing Success! Seminar will get a taste of what it’s like to be a nursing student,” Alvarado said. “But more importantly, they’ll learn what it’s like to be a student here at Samuel Merritt University, where we create a supportive and diverse community for all students from all backgrounds.”