| Perspective on ...Return to Issue of July 12, 2010 Kent State University’s College of Nursing has received funding to award 10 $10,000 scholarships from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) through the RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program. This is the third consecutive year that Kent State has received the RWJF scholarship assistance, bringing the total amount of funding in three years to $400,000.
Tracey Carlson Motter
Kent State is the only Ohio college to receive the funding three years in a row. Modern Healthcare magazine has ranked Kent State's College of Nursing as the fifth-largest nursing school in the United States. This significant national initiative, launched in 2008 by RWJF and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, aims to help alleviate the nation’s nursing shortage by dramatically expanding the pipeline of students in accelerated nursing programs.
While there is currently a temporary hiring plateau, the need for nurses in the short-term future will increase dramatically.
Through the RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program, scholarships in the amount of $10,000 each will be distributed to entry-level nursing students in accelerated programs during the 2010-2011 academic year. Award preference is given to students from groups underrepresented in nursing or from disadvantaged backgrounds. Grant funding will be used by schools to help leverage support for new faculty resources and provide mentoring and leadership development resources to ensure successful program completion by scholarship recipients.
The RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program supports accelerated programs, which offer the most efficient route to licensure as a registered nurse for adults who have already completed a baccalaureate or graduate degree in a discipline other than nursing. Although enrollment in these programs has steadily increased over the past few years, many potential students are unable to enroll since already having a college degree disqualifies them from receiving most federal financial aid programs for entry-level students. The New Careers in Nursing scholarships address this problem and also will alleviate the overall nursing shortage by enabling hundreds of students to launch their nursing careers through accelerated education not otherwise possible without scholarships. Additionally, the program targets the need to recruit students from groups underrepresented in nursing or disadvantaged backgrounds. According to the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice, diversifying the nursing profession is essential to meeting the healthcare needs of the nation and reducing health disparities that exist among many underserved populations. Data from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration also show that nurses entering the profession at the baccalaureate level are four times more likely than other nurses to pursue a graduate degree in nursing, which is the required credential to teach. We are happy to help provide this opportunity to a growing number of excellent students and congratulate the recipients on their success!
Sincerely,  |
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