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UCSF School of Nursing is committed to recruit and prepare students from diverse backgrounds to be national and international leaders in research, education, clinical practice, administration, policy, and other emerging arenas. Our goals can be achieved only in a diverse, respectful learning environment where we value the unique perspectives and contributions of people who are not just like ourselves.
We recognize our responsibility as educators of advanced practice nurses, nurse administrators, nurse faculty, health policy specialists, and nurse researchers to graduate well-educated, culturally-sensitive health professionals who mirror the diverse populations they will serve. "Diversity is the key to excellence in healthcare" (Sullivan Commission Report, 2004, pg. 2†).
Summer Academic Enrichment Program
This page features UCSF students representing all programs (Master's, Master's Entry (MEPN), and PhD) sharing their thoughts and experiences about diversity at UCSF.
"UCSF has a diverse mix of students, staff and faculty and a great atmosphere for learning."
Anthony Baldacci is an Italian-American native Californian, from the Los Angeles area. Anthony heard his call to nursing at an early age. His family was affected by cancer and he spent a lot of childhood time in hospitals, where he was exposed to various healthcare settings and roles.
He served in the military as a Navy corpsman, in a role roughly equivalent to a LVN. His experience there led him to become an Independent Duty corpsman, which has a great deal in common with the Nurse Practitioner role. After exiting the Navy, he took the California LVN boards, and eventually followed up with his RN and BSN.
Anthony believes UCSF is a great university with excellent students and faculty; and has endless opportunities for students who want to further not only their careers, but also their knowledge base in nursing (via research and teaching opportunities) as well as related disciplines.
"UCSF has a diverse mix of students, staff and faculty, and a great atmosphere for learning. Every quarter, when I see the new study list, I'm like a kid in a candy store. If I could take everything that sounds interesting, I'd end up with 25 units!"
Anthony is a current Master's NP student focusing on adult primary care, with minors in Education and Genomics.
"Currently most of the nursing faculties in the U.S. are Caucasian, and it makes it difficult for English as a Second Language (ESL) students to adjust."
Deepika Goyal is an Asian/Indian PhD student originally from London. Deepika has been a nurse since 1998 and a Family Nurse Practitioner since 2002. Deepika likes what nurses do; she believes it is more holistic than just getting a diagnosis from a doctor. She got her Bachelors and Masters Degrees from California State University, San Jose.
After attending the Inside UCSF School of Nursing 1-day program for persons interested in doctoral study, Deepika decided to come here and pursue her PhD. Deepika felt the Inside UCSF SON program was very instrumental in getting her to come to UCSF.
"The staff was very comforting and supportive. I was paired up with an advisor, and the process was very easy and smooth. Inside UCSF SON really encouraged students to attend. It is a very well done program."
Deepika feels that one way to increase diversity in nursing is to have more diverse faculty. Currently most of the nursing faculty in the U.S. are Caucasian and it makes it difficult for English as a second language students (ESL) who have a harder time adjusting to non-diverse faculty. Sometimes these students may feel left or singled out.
Deepika's doctoral study is in Family Health Care Nursing with a focus in post partum depression and sleep deprivation.
"Ethnic minorities and underserved communities seldom see health professionals who look similar or who have shared similar life experiences. And this has been a major contributor to healthcare disparities."
Herb Pierrie is a current PhD student and Moore Fellow at UCSF. Various life experiences lead to his decision to pursue a career in nursing which began as a volunteer in the Oncology Department at UCSF and with The Shanti Project.
Herb went through the accelerated Master's in Nursing Program at San Francisco State University where he pursued an interest in public health nursing. His mentors Skip Davis, PhD (UCSF alumnus) and Rena Pasick, PhD (UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center) were instrumental in his decision to apply to the UCSF doctoral program in nursing.
"UCSF has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life. The scholarship of academic faculty and a commitment to developing diverse leaders in nursing research and cultural diversity among nursing leadership were primary factors that ranked UCSF above other doctoral nursing programs.
"Ethnic minorities and underserved communities seldom see health professionals who look similar or who have shared similar life experiences. And this has been a major contributor to healthcare disparities. UCSF has afforded me the opportunity to be one of the minority faces that will be seen in academia, education, and public health. And for this I feel blessed."
"Minority nurses are not represented in the advanced practice level of nursing, and I want to help with the change."
Maria Lourdes Bayog is currently a Masters Student in our Advanced Community Health and International Nursing specialty. Maria wanted to become a nurse because she wanted to care for patients and to make a difference in someone's life. Currently she works at the UCSF Medical Center in the Adult Medical-Surgical Intensive Care Unit.
"I decided I wanted to get my masters in nursing because I wanted to become an Advanced Practice Nurse. I choose to come to UCSF because of its diversity and the expertise that the Nursing faculty has to offer. Minority nurses are not represented in the advanced practice level of nursing, and I want to help with the change."
"I feel privileged to be a student at UCSF. I received scholarships through the California Endowment/American Association of Colleges of Nursing, I am a mentee for the National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurses Association through the Philippine Nurses Association of America (PNAA), and I am this year's Fellow for the PNAA Foundation. At UCSF I feel my possibilities are endless--even to get my PhD, if I want it!"
"Robert feels it is essential that under-represented students and faculty feel comfortable about their learning environs, which means not being one-of-a-kind."
Robert Pope is a Doctoral Student in the Department of Physiological Nursing. He is a John A. Hartford Scholar and American Association of Colleges of Nursing/California Endowment Scholar whose research interest is older African Americans and substance abuse.
Robert feels it is essential that under-represented students and faculty feel comfortable about their learning environs, which means not being one-of-a-kind. To that end, Robert has given presentations to young minority students on reasons to choose nursing as a profession. He says,
"I want to change the landscape of nursing, to increase the pool of minority nurses and there is no better place to do that than UCSF, as it is consistently ranked among the best schools of nursing in the nation."
"It would be great to see more people of color in the halls and in the field. Nursing education can open so many doors!"
Latina Michelle Tellez is a former MEPN student who has really blossomed at UCSF. Michelle answered her call to nursing, and took it to the next level. Michelle was working at San Francisco General Hospital as an HIV/AIDS counselor and research assistant, while doing the pre-requisites for medical school when she realized that nurses have the most direct contact with patients. Michelle discovered nurses doing what she wanted to do.
After completing MEPN at UCSF, Michelle decided to take a year off from school and work. She worked in transplant at UCSF Medical Center and then came back to school to finish her Master's degree specializing in Nursing Administration. During her Master's study, Michelle fell in love with research and decided to continue into the PhD program.
"I discovered the power of large data sets. They are fun and interesting to me!"
Michelle describes her UCSF experience as fantastic. She finds the faculty to be a great combination of researchers and teachers. "They are very supportive of making students' dreams and ideas come true. The faculty will do whatever they can to make your projects materialize."
Michelle feels that nursing needs to do more to boost the diversity in the profession. UCSF, although improving since Assistant Dean Judy Martin-Holland came to work in the Dean's Office, is no exception.
"It would be great to see more people of color in the halls and in the field. Nursing education can open so many doors!"
Michelle Tellez has advanced to candidacy and is currently working on her dissertation project using "large datasets" She expects to graduate this coming June!
"I was impressed with the support for international students at UCSF."
Mijung is a fifth year PhD Student studying Asian American families with mentally ill family members. She is an American Nurses Foundation Fellow.
She says that she "accidentally" fell into nursing. She saw a mentally-ill man on the subway and helped him out. After that she thought about a career in helping people. Naturally she fell into nursing. Mijung has found her place in psychiatric nursing (this is actually her 13th year!). Currently she works at San Francisco General Hospital as a per diem nurse so she can complete her doctoral degree at UCSF.
Mijung completed her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Seoul, Korea. When she saw the opportunity to come to UCSF as an exchange student she jumped at the opportunity. "I was impressed with the support for international students at UCSF."
As a first generation immigrant herself, she hopes to see more support to those who are first generation immigrants who are not considered as international. Mijung sees diversity at UCSF as more than just race and ethnicity. She believes that the notion of diversity should expand to include intellectual, methodological and pedagogic diversity.
"If students see more diverse faculty, they would have an opportunity to identify with someone on campus."
Sharee Anzaldo is currently enrolled in the UCSF Masters Entry Program in Nursing (MEPN). She completed her first year of the program and took the RN licensing exam summer 2006.
As an undergraduate student at UCLA, Sharee became interested in pursuing a health career and was drawn to the philosophy of nursing. Sharee was fascinated by the nursing profession because "it encompasses a holistic approach to health and wellness."
Through her sociology and gerontology background, she gained an increased awareness of health disparities across different populations. She elaborates, "Nursing provided a framework for bridging together two fields--sociology and health. It made sense to apply sociological principles to examine current health issues."
During her childhood, Sharee was raised by her maternal grandparents while her parents worked. From these interactions, she gleaned details about the experience of aging through listening to their life histories, and recognized the unique needs of this population.
As her grandparents grew older, her mother was their primary caregiver for 16 years--"a rewarding, yet challenging role." Sharee became intrigued with health and developmental changes that accompany aging, and found her passion in working with older adults to provide them with culturally-sensitive care.
As the oldest daughter of Filipino immigrants, Sharee is the first person in her family to attend graduate school. Through participation in outreach programs, she wants to serve as a role model for others, and encourage students to enter health care professions and work with underserved communities.
In her personal experience, the UCSF campus supports diversity and makes efforts to increase interest in the School of Nursing. She describes, "If students see more diverse faculty, they would have an opportunity to identify with someone on campus. At UCSF, students are not just a number--faculty and staff take time to support their future endeavors."
"Most professions are completely dominated by males; nursing unfortunately is still stigmatized as a women-only profession."
Mats Christiansen brings us his nursing expertise from Sweden. He is an international student studying at UCSF on an F-1 visa. He is currently in the PhD program focusing his study on lesbian and gay aging families.
His transition into UCSF and into San Francisco has been pretty smooth over all, a couple small unexpected things came up but the UCSF staff was very helpful in supporting him in his time of need, always being there when he asked for help.
Mats believes the UCSF campus is diverse overall, but he would like to see more ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and religious diversity represented in his class cohort.
"Nursing has been a great profession for me, but most men have not considered becoming a nurse. I would encourage more men to consider what the nursing profession has to offer, particularly in advanced practice roles."
Our students will be pleased to respond to your inquiries about diversity and their UCSF experiences. Faculty and Staff also welcome your questions. For general program information, eligibility, admissions, etc., please contact the Office of Student Affairs, or review the School's web sites listed below.
Contact: info@nursing.ucsf.edu
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