Scholarships will support USF College of Nursing in training a demographically representative pool of nursing professionals

Tampa, FL (August 5, 2011) – The College of Nursing at the University of South Florida, for the third consecutive year, has been selected as a grant recipient of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program (NCIN). During the 2011-2012 academic year, the USF College of Nursing will receive $50,000 to support students in the Second Bachelor degree program who are traditionally underrepresented in the field of nursing. The NCIN Scholarship Program was launched in 2008 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) to address the national nursing shortage, develop a diverse professional nursing workforce, and fuel the pipeline of nurse faculty and leaders.

“Through the NCIN program, we are challenging nursing schools across the country to expand nurse leadership and strengthen education, two clear goals of the landmark 2010 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on The Future of Nursing,” said Denise A. Davis, Dr. P.H, RWJF program officer for NCIN. “By diversifying the nursing profession through these scholarships, we are also helping to create a health care workforce ready to meet the needs of the 21st century American patient.”

At the USF College of Nursing, five scholarships in the amount of $10,000 each will be awarded to five students entering the accelerated nursing program during the 2011-2012 academic year. To date, the NCIN program has supported 18 students over two years, and continues to develop culturally competent health professionals and future leaders of the profession.

Ten scholarship recipients, all funded in the grant’s first year, completed the program and are employed. One is enrolled in the USF family nurse practitioner master’s concentration, and another is a student in the BS to PhD program. A poster, reporting on results of a “Lunch with the Leaders” program involving the graduates, was presented at the NCIN National Summit in October 2009 and the Sigma Theta Tau International Delta Beta Chapter Research Conference in February 2010. One graduate has been invited to serve on a scholar panel at the NCIN National Summit this October.

Three of eight scholars funded in the program’s second year are expected to graduate this December. These students chose mentors from the first group of scholars who completed the program. They will participate in a leadership program during the upcoming fall semester.

“The NCIN program provides unique opportunities for Second Bachelor Nursing students at the USF College of Nursing,” said Dianne Morrison-Beedy, RN, PhD, FAAN, Senior Associate Vice President for USF Health and Dean of the College of Nursing. “This is just one example of how USF is creating the nursing leaders of tomorrow and the research that improves health.”

The NCIN program was created 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 the 2011-2012 academic year, 400 students in accelerated baccalaureate and master’s programs will receive scholarship funding. A complete list of schools receiving NCIN grants is included below:

Allen College
Azusa Pacific University
Bellarmine University
Boston College
College of Mount St. Joseph
College of St. Scholastica
Creighton University
DePaul University
Duke University
Edgewood College
Farleigh Dickinson
Georgia Health Sciences University
Hampton University
Indiana Wesleyan University
Kent State University
Linfield College
Loyola University Chicago
Marquette University
Medical University of South Carolina
MidAmerica Nazarene University
Mount Carmel College of Nursing
Mount St. Mary’s College
Nebraska Methodist College
New Mexico State University
New York University
Pennsylvania State University
Rush University
Saint Louis University
Salisbury University
Samuel Merritt University
Southern Connecticut State University
SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Stony Brook University
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Thomas Jefferson University
University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Delaware
University of Detroit Mercy
University of Hawaii, Manoa
University of Miami
University of Mississippi Medical Center
University of Missouri
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
University of Rochester
University of South Alabama
University of South Florida
University of Tennessee Health Science Center
University of Texas at El Paso
University of Wyoming
West Virginia University
Winston-Salem State University

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 nurse (RN) 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 examination required for all RNs in as little as 12-18 months and provide quicker routes to workforce eligibility than traditional programs.

“AACN is proud to collaborate with RWJF on this unique effort. Through this partnership, the NCIN program continues to provide much needed scholarship support, mentoring and leadership development to students enrolled in accelerated nursing programs,” said AACN President Kathleen Potempa. “By focusing on students entering the profession at the baccalaureate and master’s level, NCIN aligns well with the recommendations for educational preparation of the nursing workforce advanced in the IOM Report on The Future of Nursing.”

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 91 percent of the students receiving funding in the first three years of the program indicate a desire to advance their education to the master’s and doctoral levels.

For more information about USF College of Nursing Second Bachelor program, visit http://health.usf.edu/nocms/nursing/AdmissionsPrograms/seconddegree.html. To find learn more about the NCIN program, visit www.newcareersinnursing.org.

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USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Public Health and Pharmacy, the School of Biomedical Sciences and the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences; and the USF Physician’s Group. Ranked 34th in federal research expenditures for public universities by the National Science Foundation, the University of South Florida is a high impact global research university dedicated to student success.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. 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. Helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in our lifetime. 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 670 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. http://www.accn.nche.edu