Nursing Dean to Lead National Study on Holistic Review

CINCINNATI—Greer Glazer, PhD, dean of the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Nursing, has been selected to lead a national

Urban Universities for HEALTH

study on universities’ use of holistic review in the admissions process for health professions. The study will also measure the effectiveness of this review process.

Holistic review is the practice of assessing applicants in a more flexible and individualized way. Admissions teams use holistic review to predict how applicants will fare both as students and as future professionals, using information about the applicant’s life experience and personal qualities in addition to traditional academic measures.

"I am delighted that Urban Universities for HEALTH has decided to invest in additional research on this topic, and that the University of Cincinnati team will be at the helm,” said Glazer. "Holistic review is a very promising practice, and we are hopeful that by improving evidence around holistic review we will increase universities’ capacity to move the dial on training a future health workforce that meets community needs.”

UC’s College of Nursing already practices holistic review for both undergraduate and graduate admissions, but, according to a 2011 survey by the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU), holistic review practices have been adopted by only 43 percent of USU nursing schools.

In the same USU study, medical schools showed a higher rate of adoption (92 percent). UC’s College of Medicine uses a holistic review process in selecting medical school applicants.

Urban Universities for HEALTH (Health Equity through Alignment, Leadership and Transformation of the Health Workforce) is a partnership effort of the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU)/Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. The project aims to address the severe shortage of qualified health professionals in underserved areas by leveraging the power of urban universities to enhance and expand a culturally sensitive, diverse and prepared health workforce.

UC has been part of Urban Universities for HEALTH since 2012, when it was named one of five participants in this project and was awarded a four-year grant totaling more than $400,000 for research work focused on investigating approaches to health care workforce development that lead to improved health outcomes and reduced disparities in local communities.

Support for the holistic review study comes from the AAMC in partnership with the USU/APLU, the Health Resources and Services Administration and the NIH. A supplemental grant has been awarded to the AAMC and USU/APLU to fund additional research and activities associated with the study.

For more information on Urban Universities for HEALTH, visit

urbanuniversitiesforhealth.org

.