Schenita Randolph, associate professor, was the keynote speaker and moderator of a webinar sponsored by Gilead Sciences during the 49th National Black Nurses Association Annual Institute and Conference, “The Crucial Role Nurses Can Play in HIV Testing.”

She was joined by two panelist and colleagues: 

• Kendrick Clack, Nurse Practitioner at Harris County Public Health, and
• Natalie Leblanc, Assistant Professor and the Harriet J Kitzman Endowed Fellow in Health Disparities at the University of Rochester School of Nursing

Webinar objectives included:

1. The disproportionate risk for HIV infection among marginalized communities in the United States 
2. HIV testing as the entry point to the status-neutral HIV care continuum
3. Barriers to HIV care that nurses can help to address
4. How nurse-driven innovative strategies may help both to increase HIV testing and normalize knowing one’s HIV status

The National Black Nurses Association was organized in 1971 under the leadership of Lauranne Sams, former dean and professor of nursing, School of Nursing, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama.

NBNA represents approximately 200,000 African American nurses from the USA, Canada, Eastern Caribbean and Africa, with 115 chartered chapters nationwide.

NBNA mission is to provide a forum for collective action by African American nurses to represent and provide a forum for black nurses to advocate for and implement strategies to ensure access to the highest quality of healthcare for persons of color.