For Ashley, becoming a registered nurse in the United States "means bringing in Latinx representation in healthcare.” As a young girl, she witnessed the positive and caring nature of the nurses who took care of her grandparents and parents. This is the kind of nurse she aspires to be for her patients. 

According to the US Census Bureau (2023), there are 63.7 million people identifying as Hispanic in the United States. This number accounts for 19.1% of the US population (United States Census Bureau, 2023), and yet, the 2022 National Nursing Workforce Survey reports only 6.9% of the nursing workforce identify as Hispanic (Smiley et al., 2023). This has important implications for patient health. A study by Ma et al. (2024) found that patient provider racial/ethnic concordance is significantly associated with higher chances of seeking care for those who identify as Hispanic. This is important given that Hispanic patients have lower health care utilization rates compared to their white counterparts (Ma et al., 2022). 

Ashley’s dream is to serve BIPOC communities through the provision of patient-centered nursing care. As a second-year student in the Graduate Entry Program at the College of Nursing, she is one step closer to achieving her goal. But her journey has not always been easy. 

“Sometimes our biggest critic is ourselves”

Struck by imposter syndrome and self-doubt, Ashley feared disappointing her family and encountering failure. Nevertheless, she found support from her family, friends, and faculty at the College of Nursing. With the help of the Urban Health Program, Ashley attended the inaugural Society of Latinx Nurses Conference in Newark, California last August. Here, she found a network of supportive nurses and nurse practitioners whose stories encouraged and motivated her to push herself harder to achieve her goals. 

 Ashley explains, “I had the chance to listen to the stories of like-minded individuals who overcame obstacles, stereotypes, and challenges in becoming nurses.” The conference reminded Ashley that she was not alone in her journey. “Many of the nurses I met had been told ‘no,' had failed, but learned from their mistakes, had a different career before nursing and had a family of their own. Being surrounded by other Latinx nurses motivated me to regain my focus and push myself further to become a nurse.”

“Advice that I have for other first gen and BIPOC nursing students is that you can, and you will.”

Through her experiences in the program, Ashley has learned that while everyone’s paths to nursing is different, no one is ever alone: “There are thousands of others who are probably in the same shoes as you are.”

Upon completion of her program, Ashley hopes to work as a registered nurse in obstetrics or pediatrics. Her long-term goal is to obtain a Doctorate in Nursing Practice and work as a nurse practitioner. 

Acknowledgements: 

Thank you to Ashley Martinez for her willingness to share her story, and thank you to our previous UHP Graduate Assistant, Claudia Choe, for helping our UHP team to connect with Ashley regarding her story! 

References:

Ma, A., Sanchez, A., & Ma, M. (2022). Racial disparities in health care utilization, the affordable care act and racial concordance preference. International journal of health economics and management, 22(1), 91–110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10754-021-09311-8

 Ma, A., Campbell, J., Sanchez, A., Sumner, S., & Ma, M. (2024). Racial Concordance on Healthcare Use within Hispanic Population Subgroups. Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities, 11(4), 2329–2337. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-023-01700-8

 Smiley, R.A., Allgeyer, R.L., Shobo, Y., Lyons, K.C., Letourneau, R., Zhong, E., Kaminski-Ozturk, N., and Alexander, M. (2023). The 2022 National Nursing Workforce Survey. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 14(1), S1-S90.

 United States Census Bureau. (2023, August 17). Hispanic Heritage Month: 2023. Census.gov. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2023/hispanic-heritage-month.html