New Grant for College of Nursing Doctoral Nursing Students
The College of Nursing has received a grant from the Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare to fund doctoral nursing students as part of a national initiative to support 1,000 nurse scholars.
(Left to right): The Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing Jonas Scholars, Raquel Brown, RN, MSN; Ayse Kaltsas, RN, MSN, MBA; and Ashley Rivera, RN, MSN, CDE.
Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing announced a new grant of $30,000 from the Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare, matched by $30,000 of its own monies, to fund the scholarship of three Ph.D. nursing students in 2016. As a recipient of the Jonas Center grant, the College of Nursing is part of a national effort to stem the faculty shortage and prepare the next generation of nurses – critical as a clinical nurse shortage is anticipated just as an aging population requires care.
These College of Nursing Jonas Scholars join more than 1,000 future nurse educators and leaders at 140 universities across all 50 states supported by Jonas Center programs, the Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholars Program and Jonas Veterans Healthcare Program (JVHP). These scholarships support nurses pursuing doctorates and DNPs, the terminal degrees in the field.
“The Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing is very pleased to receive this award to support three Ph.D. students, allowing the College to prepare a greater number of future nurse faculty leaders and researchers who will advance nursing science and particularly caring science,” said Christine L. Williams, DNSc, director of the Ph.D. in Nursing Program in FAU’s College of Nursing.
As the nation’s leading philanthropic funder of graduate nursing education, the Jonas Center is addressing the critical need for qualified nursing faculty. U.S. nursing schools turned away nearly 70,000 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in 2014 due in large part to an insufficient number of faculty [i] . Further, nearly two-thirds of registered nurses over age 54 say they are considering retirement [ii] .
“In 2008, we set an ambitious goal to support 1,000 Jonas Nurse Scholars. This year, on our Center’s 10th anniversary, we celebrate this achievement and amazed by the talent of this cohort of future nurse leaders,” said Donald Jonas, who co-founded the Center with Barbara Jonas, his wife. “In the decade to come, we look forward to continuing to work with our partner nursing schools and to the great impact that the Jonas Scholars will have on improving healthcare around the world.”
The Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing Jonas Scholars will begin their graduate careers in the fall 2016 and will be supported through 2018. The three selected full-time Ph.D. students are:
- Raquel Brown, RN, MSN, who is focusing her dissertation work on exploring the use of herbal remedies in Caribbean-American adults and adding to the body of knowledge regarding providing culturally relevant care to this population With receipt of the Jonas Center Ph.D. award, she hopes to contribute to the enhancement of caring science.
- Ayse Kaltsas, RN, MSN, MBA, who is focusing her dissertation work on examining “The impact of bio-behavioral risk and protective factors on Alzheimer’s Disease to guide prevention strategies for adults with mild-cognitive impairment.”
- Ashley Rivera, RN, MSN, CDE, who is focusing her dissertation work on “Improving the quality of life for the families of children with chronic illness, particularly families of children with congenital conditions that create chronic medical fragility, such as deMoiser Syndrome, Hurlers Syndrome, Sickle Cell Disease.”
“Receiving this award means that I have a lot of work to do in my scholarly journey, and it is confirmed that I am supported in pursuing my goals,” said Kaltsas, a College of Nursing student and Jonas scholar.
FAU’s College of Nursing is internationally known for its commitment to nursing as a discipline focused on nurturing the wholeness of persons and the environment through Caring. The College advances Caring knowledge through education, practice, research and scholarship to transform care locally, nationally and globally. Currently, the College of Nursing offers bachelor’s, master’s, DNP and Ph.D. degree programs with approximately 1,600 nursing students enrolled in its programs. For more information, visit www.nursing.fau.edu.
-FAU-
Tags: philanthropy | students | nursing | education | foundation