The KILN Project Team, from left to right: Debra Pino, Project Coordinator; Allyssa Harris, Public Health Nursing Workforce Coordinator; Judith Vessey, Program Evaluation Coordinator; Donna Cullinan, Mentoring Coordinator; Catherine Read, Project Director; Angela Amar, Summer Immersion Program Coordinator; Holly Lopes, Undergraduate Research Fellow; Michele Mendes, Pre-Entry Outreach Coordinator
The "Keys to Inclusive Leadership in Nursing" (KILN) program prepares nursing students from disadvantaged backgrounds (including racial and ethnic minorities underrepresented among registered nurses) to enter the public health nursing workforce as leaders with the inherent capacity to make a difference in local communities.
A pre-entry program will increase the proportion of minority/disadvantaged students admitted to Boston College’s Connell School of Nursing by stimulating interest in nursing as a career and by recruiting top students. A retention program will increase the graduation rate of minority/disadvantaged students by providing intense mentoring and support as well as stipends and scholarships. Finally, the KILN program will increase the number of culturally competent, leadership-trained graduates working in medically underserved areas in Boston through a program of community-based leadership and scholarship development activities.
The program will ultimately contribute to the elimination of health disparities, a goal that is consistent with Boston College's mission of uniting high academic achievement with service to others in a diverse community.
Find out more
Current KILN scholars »
The KILN program in the news »
Project director Catherine Read, associate dean for the undergraduate program »
The Connell School of Nursing's Diversity Advisory Board »
This project is supported by funds from the Division of Nursing (DN), Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) under grant number 1D19HP14617, Nursing Workforce Diversity, $937,247. The information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any official endorsement be inferred by, the DN, BHPr, HRSA, DHHS, or the US Government.