To meet growing demand, address social determinants of health, and improve health equity, a larger and more diverse registered nurse (RN) workforce is needed in the US. To do so, it is important to understand current pathways and barriers to becoming an RN.

This article published in Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice examines prior health care employment and financial assistance factors associated with completion of pre-licensure RN education programs, by initial entry degree (associate degree or bachelor of science in nursing) and across racial and ethnic groups.