School of Nursing, Dr. Marilyn Harrington honored by AAMN

The American Association for Men in Nursing honored Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Dr. Marilyn Harrington and the School of Nursing at the University of Mississippi Medical Center for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Harrington, an associate professor of nursing, received the 2022 Inclusion and Diversity Excellence Award (IDEA award) from the association at its recent annual conference in Orlando. The award salutes Harrington’s work and dedication to promote diversity in nursing through sustained and innovative efforts to recruit and retain minority nurses on an organizational, regional and national level.

The SON was recognized at the conference as an AAMN 2022 Best Schools for Men in Nursing. The AAMN noted the school’s recruitment materials and images depicting male nurses and events that target prospective nursing students who are men.

“Increasing male student enrollment within the School of Nursing has been a long-term goal of mine,” Harrington said. “Many credentialing institutions of nursing, including the AACN, the ANA, and IOM all recognize the importance of nurses mimicking the population within the state. Men represent approximately 48 percent of the population of Mississippi.

“However, within nursing, they only account for 12 percent nationally and in Mississippi, about one in 10 nurses are male, including RNs and LPNs. This honor serves as further motivation to continue these recruitment efforts.”