East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 5-2017 The Perceptions of Success of Latino Nursing School Graduates in the Appalachian Region of the United States Barbara M. Rauscher East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at:https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of theAppalachian Studies Commons,Other Education Commons, and theOther Nursing Commons Recommended Citation Rauscher, Barbara M., "The Perceptions of Success of Latino Nursing School Graduates in the Appalachian Region of the United States" (2017).Electronic Theses and Dissertations.Paper 3206. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3206 This Dissertation - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please [email protected]. The Perceptions of Success of Latino Nursing Student Graduates in the Appalachian Region of the United States _________________________________ A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Department of the College of Nursing East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing _________________________________ by Barbara Rauscher May 2017 _________________________________ Dr. Sharon Loury, Chair Dr. Sally Blowers Dr. Katherine Hall Dr. Kathleen Rayman Dr. Irene Burgess Keywords: Latino, Success, Nursing School ABSTRACT The Perceptions of Success of Latino Nursing School Graduates in the Appalachian Region of the United States by Barbara Maria Rauscher This qualitative narrative descriptive study focused on nine successful Latino nursing school graduates. Five participants were interviewed twice and four participants were interviewed once for a total of fourteen interviews. Participants and their families immigrated from Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Mexico. Participants attended school in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Interviews revealed themes of Familism, Empowerment, and Perseverance. Familism was an overriding theme throughout each of the interviews. Participants described family as being their greatest support. They discussed sacrifices made by their families which assisted them in being successful. In addition, they also shared their willingness to make personal sacrifices in order to honor their family by being successful. Empowerment was also a theme which surfaced. Participants were empowered to attain their goal of attending college and then succeeding in nursing school. The theme of Empowerment was supported by descriptions of parental sacrifice, parental and family support, and support of faculty. The theme of perseverance was demonstrated through continued goal-attainment. Participants struggled through time- management issues such as balancing family, work, and school commitments. They also worked through the guilt of not providing 100% of their time and attention to any one area of their life, especially family. Perseverance was displayed in multiple ways by participants. One of the most compelling was their need to honor their family. Another area which fueled their perseverance 2 was faith. Lastly, participants stated that their need to be self-sufficient added to their perseverance. Self-efficacy surfaced as an attribute they all attained. Familism, perseverance, and empowerment were themes which were consistent with other studies. However, this study is the first study to address the successfulness of Latino nursing school graduates in the Appalachian area of the United States. This study is also unique in that each of the participants attributed their success to family. In addition, seven of the nine families immigrated to the United States for sole purpose of educating their children. This act of sacrifice by families further strengthened the theme of familism. 3 DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this dissertation to the memory of my father Richard and my mother Barbara. My father inspired me to always have faith and trust in God. My mother was the first nurse I ever knew. Her memory encouraged me to be a compassionate and caring nurse. I would also like to dedicate this dissertation to the honor of my step-mother RoAnne who has laughed with me, cried with me, and prayed for me. These three people have had an incredible influence on my life and I thank God for them every day. 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I could not have accomplished this venture without the love and unfailing support of the following people. I would like to first thank God for walking this journey with me. I am certain that there were times that He not only walked along side me, but carried me. I thank my children Nicole, Daniel, David, and Maddie for their constant love and support. They believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. I thank the incredible nursing faculty at Lenoir-Rhyne University. They made me laugh when I didn’t think it was possible, encouraged me, and provided unwavering support. I thank my brother and sisters and many other family and friends for cheering me on every step of the way. I give my thanks and gratitude to my committee for their time and support in this endeavor. I especially thank my Chair and Advisor, Dr. Sharon Loury and Dr. Sally Blowers for their unwavering confidence. They both provided me with constructive criticism, knowledge, and expertise. I consider them mentors and friends in the truest sense of the words. A special thanks to the School of Graduate Studies for financial support via the Dissertation Scholarship. This scholarship provided one semester of full tuition. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ...........................................................................................................................2 DEDICATION .......................................................................................................................4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .....................................................................................................5 TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................6 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................11 Issues Overcome For Latino Students .......................................................................12 Cultural ...........................................................................................................12 Personal ..........................................................................................................14 Institutional .....................................................................................................15 Statement of Problem .................................................................................................16 Latino Population Statistics ...........................................................................17 Purpose of Study ....................................................................................................... 19 Philosophical Perspective of the Study ......................................................................20 Social Cognitive Theory ................................................................................20 Conclusion ................................................................................................................21 Aim of Study ................................................................................................21 Research Question ....................................................................................................23 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................................24 Latino and Minority Nursing Student Barriers and Success ......................................26 6 Latino Nursing Student Concerns and Success .........................................................29 Financial and Institutional Concerns .............................................................29 Success Strategies ..........................................................................................31 Personal Attributes .........................................................................................34 Language ........................................................................................................34 Latino Nursing Student Success ................................................................................36 Family ............................................................................................................37 Recruitment and Retention ............................................................................38 Summary ....................................................................................................................41 3. METHOD ..........................................................................................................................43 Underpinnings ...........................................................................................................43 Ontological .....................................................................................................43 Epistemological .............................................................................................43 Methodological ..............................................................................................45 Worldview..................................................................................................................46 Methods......................................................................................................................46 Role of Researcher .....................................................................................................47 Data Collection ..........................................................................................................48 Participants ....................................................................................................48 Table 1: Participant Demographics ................................................................50 Data Collection ..............................................................................................50 Memory Accuracy .........................................................................................51 Interview Security .........................................................................................51 7 Participant Protection ....................................................................................52 Informed Consent ........................................................................................52 Interviews .......................................................................................................53 Data Analysis .............................................................................................. 54 Verification ....................................................................................................55 Findings ....................................................................................................... 55 4. RESULTS ..........................................................................................................................57 Introduction ................................................................................................................57 Analysis..........................................................................................................59 Empowerment ....................................................................................................59 Sacrifice .........................................................................................................60 Parent Sacrifice .................................................................................... 60 Student Sacrifice .....................................................................................61 Support ...........................................................................................................62 Family ....................................................................................................62 Friends, coworkers, and faculty .............................................................63 Perseverance/Committed .....................................................................................64 Aspire for More..............................................................................................64 Honor Family .................................................................................................65 Family First ....................................................................................................66 Faith ...............................................................................................................68 Necessity ........................................................................................................69 8 Figure 1: Model of Themes and Subthemes of Perceptions of Success of Latino Nursing School Graduates .........................................................................................71 5. DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................73 Similarity to Other Findings ......................................................................................73 Challenges ..................................................................................................................74 Educational Background of Parents ...........................................................................76 Empowerment .......................................................................................................... 78 Family and Student Sacrifice ........................................................................78 Support ...........................................................................................................79 Family Support ......................................................................................79 Faculty and friend support .....................................................................79 Perseverance ..............................................................................................................80 Honoring Family ............................................................................................80 Family First ....................................................................................................81 Faith ...............................................................................................................81 Necessity ........................................................................................................81 Recommendations for Nurse Educators ...............................................................83 Recommendations for Future Research ....................................................................84 Limitations .................................................................................................................85 Conclusion .................................................................................................................85 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................87 APPENDICES .......................................................................................................................99 Appendix A: IRB Approval .......................................................................................99 9