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The University of
Accelerated Nursing Students for Second Year
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Scholarships
funded through Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
New
Careers in Nursing Program
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Memphis, Tenn. (August 13, 2009) – The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
College of Nursing announced today that for the second year in a row, it has
received funding to award 20 scholarships from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
(RWJF) through the RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program. Grants provided
through this competitive program will build upon the University of Tennessee
Health Science Center’s previous efforts to increase the number of students
enrolled in its accelerated, entry-level master’s degree Clinical Nurse Leader nursing
program and to diversify its student base. This significant national initiative, launched in 2008 by RWJF and the
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), aims to help alleviate the
nation’s nursing shortage by dramatically expanding the pipeline of students in
accelerated nursing programs.
In addition to financial support provided by the RWJF
scholarships, students participate in weekly mentoring, leadership and academic
support activities to facilitate success in the program. Retention rates are 100 percent. Fifty percent of RWJF scholarship recipients
serve in leadership roles within the college and university and 90 percent of
these students indicated a desire to go to graduate school within five years of
completing the entry-level nursing program.
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare Systems has provided clinical faculty
and collaborated on the development of a Dedicated Education Unit to provide
quality clinical experiences and facilitate increased enrollment in the
accelerated, entry-level nursing program at the University of Tennessee Health
Science Center’s
Through the RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship
Program, scholarships in the amount
of $10,000 each will be distributed to entry-level, second-degree nursing
students in accelerated programs during the 2009-2010 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.
“New Careers in Nursing aims to safeguard the health
of the nation by helping to ease the nurse and nurse faculty shortage. Nurses are critical to delivering health care
that is effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient and equitable,” said
RWJF Senior Adviser for Nursing Susan B. Hassmiller, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N. “This
important initiative will also advance the foundation’s strategic goal of
promoting a health professional workforce that reflects the diversity of the
American public.”
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 will also 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.
Newly admitted students in the entry-level MSN-CNL
program at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) are
eligible to apply for the scholarships if they are from an underrepresented
group (minority or males) or are economically disadvantaged. Students will
participate in weekly leadership and retention sessions with faculty and
doctoral students. Our goal is to achieve 100 percent retention and 100 percent
passage on the NCLEX licensing examination for the RWJF scholars, with at least
50 percent of the scholarship recipients involved in leadership activities
within the college, university or community. As part of this initiative, the UTHSC College
of Nursing has increased minority enrollment to 50 percent in the entry-level
nursing program.
AACN serves
as the National Program Office for this RWJF initiative and oversees the grant
application submission and review processes. For more information about this program,
see http://www.newcareersinnursing.org.
As the flagship statewide academic health system, the
mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the
benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human
health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing
an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public
service. Offering a broad range of
postgraduate training opportunities, the main campus
is located in
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