. African Americans Go After Job Growth Opportunities in the Midst of Nursing Shortage: "For the first time, the U.S. Department of Labor recognized registered nursing as the top occupation in the nation in terms of job growth opportunities through the year 2012. Similarly, African Americans are realizing a great potential for growth in a field that is plagued with high turnover and vacancy rates, which has encouraged more African American students to pursue a higher education in nursing.

According to the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, the number of African Americans in bachelors, masters and doctoral degree programs in the United States has increased significantly over the past few years. In 2003, there were 14,616 students enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program in nursing; that is a 67 percent increase over the 8,745 students that were enrolled in 1990. In addition, the number of students in a master’s degree program tripled to 3,635 students and the number of students pursing a doctoral degree doubled to 264 over the same 12-year period."