News Taffy

Arkansas State University’s School of Nursing, in the College of Nursing and Health Professions, announced that it is one of 63 schools that will receive funding to award five scholarships from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program (NCIN).

Grants provided through this competitive program will be given to students traditionally underrepresented in the field of nursing and strives to prepare culturally competent leaders in ASU School of Nursing accelerated baccalaureate nursing program. NCIN was launched in 2008 to address the national nursing shortage and fuel the pipeline of diverse nurse faculty. At ASU’s School of Nursing, five scholarships in the amount of $10,000 each will be awarded to five students entering accelerated nursing programs during the 2010-2011 academic year.

To date, the NCIN program has supported 1,917 students at 101 schools of nursing, and continues to develop culturally competent health professionals and future leaders of the profession. Dr. Sue McLarry, chair of the School of Nursing at ASU-Jonesboro, and an RN and a Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) says “The School of Nursing is very excited to be part of the RWJF New Careers in Nursing scholarship program. The scholarships provide a great opportunity for our students who are from groups typically underrepresented in nursing, such as males and ethnic minorities.”

Denise A. Davis, Doctor of Public Health and RWJF program officer for NCIN, says "Through the NCIN program, we are challenging the nation’s nursing schools to be innovative and resourceful in how they grow their nursing programs, diversify student populations and contribute to the nursing leadership of tomorrow. We are very pleased to support this unique approach, particularly at a time when growing numbers of Americans are gaining insurance and entering our health care system.”

The NCIN program was created through RWJF and AACN to enable schools of nursing to expand student capacity in accelerated baccalaureate and master’s programs, and build a more diverse workforce ready to serve the needs of a changing patient population. Schools receiving grants through NCIN provide scholarships directly to students from groups underrepresented in nursing or from disadvantaged backgrounds. In its second year, 58 percent of scholarships went to students from diverse racial and ethnic groups and 37 percent went to male nursing students.

Men currently account for only 6.6 percent of the national nursing population. The NCIN program addresses a number of the challenges confronting nursing education, professional development, and the national workforce shortage. Accelerated programs like the ones supported by NCIN provide scholars with the most efficient route to licensure as a registered nurses (RNs) and create opportunities for adults who have already completed a baccalaureate or graduate degree in a field other than nursing.

These programs prepare students to pass the licensure examine required for all RNs in as little as 12-18 months and provide quicker routes to workforce eligibility than traditional programs. By bringing more nurses into the profession at the baccalaureate and master’s degree levels, the NCIN program also helps to address the nation’s nurse faculty shortage. Data from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration show that nurses entering the profession via baccalaureate programs are four times more likely than other nurses to pursue a graduate degree in nursing.

This trend is reflected in the NCIN scholars, as 95% of the students receiving funding in the first two years of the program indicate a desire to advance their education to the master’s and doctoral levels. Finally, the RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program is clearly having a positive effect on the nation’s nursing schools. Many programs that received awards have used the NCIN funding to help leverage additional resources to add new faculty, secure matching funding from state programs, develop mentoring and leadership development programs, strengthen outreach efforts, and establish new partnerships with community and practice leaders.

These efforts will enable schools to sustain their program expansion while positioning them for growth. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing America. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful, and timely change.

For more than 35 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. Visit the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation online at www.rwjf.org. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is the national voice for university and four-year college education programs in nursing.

Representing more than 640 member schools of nursing at public and private institutions nationwide, AACN's educational, research, governmental advocacy, data collection, publications, and other programs work to establish quality standards for bachelor's- and graduate-degree nursing education, assist deans and directors to implement those standards, influence the nursing profession to improve health care, and promote public support of baccalaureate and graduate nursing education, research, and practice. Visit the American Association of Colleges of Nursing online at www.aacn.nche.edu.