Diversity and Inclusivity in the Health Science Professions in the USA: A Case Study From Nursing History

Abstract

The health science professions—nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, audiology, and speech-language pathology—address diversity and inclusivity within their professional organizations and educational experiences. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses serve as the gateway into these professions. Diversity and inclusion is a larger higher education issue in the USA, as these programs are housed in colleges and universities. This paper explores diversity and inclusivity in these professions today and uses a historical case study from nursing to understand the impact history has had on this issue over time. The case study reflects nursing’s struggle to develop educational and professional standards in the United States between the end of the 19th and the early part of the 20th century, a period when prejudice reigned either by law or by custom. Since several of the health science professions share a similar background to that of nursing, this profession can serve as an exemplar as to how it addressed racist laws and attitudes that permeated nursing education in hospital and university based programs. While some progress has been made, remnants of these segregating forces continue today as institutional racism and implicit bias negatively permeates educational settings and the health care delivery models. The data show who is missing from this larger conversations on campus, and unless we explore, question, and study the history of the health science professions, opportunity to be become more diverse and inclusive to meet the needs of the profession and the public will be missed.