The current diversity projects of the Oregon Center for Nursing (OCN) advance several of OCN's strategic goals, including promotion of a diverse nursing workforce, support of educational transformation and development and support for the recruitment and retention of nurses in the workplace. The Nursing Workforce Diversity Initiative (NWDI) efforts began in 2005 as the result of a regional Nursing Workforce Diversity Summit hosted by the Linfield-Good Samaritan School of Nursing in partnership with OCN and several regional health care systems, schools of nursing, public health departments, nonprofit organizations, and philanthropic foundations.

Two projects, led by the Oregon Center for Nursing, have resulted from the NWDI's work: the Nurturing Cultural Competence in Nursing (NCCN) program, and the Nursing Student Admissions Database (NSAD) project. 

Nurturing Cultural Competence in Nursing

The Nurturing Cultural Competence in Nursing (NCCN) program provides mini-grant funding to projects designed to improve cultural competence in the nursing workforce, and foster collaboration between organizations working to improve cultural competence among nurses in Oregon and Southwest Washington. “Promising practices” identified through the NCCN program will improve the quality of care for the increasingly diverse population of Oregon and Southwest Washington, and help recruit and retain nurses from underrepresented groups. 

Nursing Student Admissions Database

The Nursing Student Admissions Database (NSAD) project is one component of the Oregon Center for Nursing's Nursing Workforce Diversity Initiative. The aim of the NSAD project is to collect reliable data that describes the true number and select demographic characteristics of applicants applying to Oregon's 21 nursing programs in order to accurately track and report admissions and enrollment trends.