NYU.edu requires JavaScript be enabled in your browser in order to use important features of the site. JavaScript is either disabled or not supported by your browser. For instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser, click here.

Main Navigation

Bread Crumbs

NYU College of Nursing Awarded Scholarships through RWJF New Careers in Nursing Program

June 19, 2012
N-401, 2011-12

Five $10K Scholarships Will Support Training Underrepresented Bachelor’s Nursing Students

The New York University College of Nursing (NYUCN) is pleased to announce that for the third time, it has been selected as a grant recipient of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program (NCIN).&nbsp; During the 2012-2013 academic year, the $50K RWJF grant to NYUCN will provide $10K scholarships directly to five students in NYUCN’s accelerated bachelor’s program who are traditionally underrepresented in the field of nursing and are pursuing a second career in 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 expand enrollment in accelerated degree programs in schools of nursing while increasing diversity in the nursing workforce.

“The NCIN scholarships provide opportunities for students from underrepresented groups in nursing to develop leadership skills through programs that are offered to them as well as opportunities to work with a mentor while they are in bachelor’s program,” said Ann Marie P. Mauro, PhD, RN, CNL, CNE Clinical Associate Professor, and NCIN Program Liaison at NYUCN. “The NCIN scholarship program not only increases the number of nurses from these underrepresented groups, but it also helps meet the nursing shortage more rapidly, encouraging graduates to continue their nursing education and hopefully to become nurse faculty educators in the future.”

Since 2008, the NCIN program has distributed 2,717 scholarships to students at more than 100 unique schools of nursing. This year, funding for 400 scholarships was granted to 55 schools of nursing.

“We need a well-educated, diverse nursing workforce to provide quality care for our changing patient population,” said David Krol, MD, MPH, FAAP, program officer for NCIN, RWJF senior program officer and team director of the RWJF Human Capital portfolio. “NCIN is strengthening nursing education and helping to fill the pipeline with capable, culturally competent nurses.”

“NYU College of Nursing has a proud history of preparing graduates for leadership roles in clinical practice, education, and research,” said NYUCN Interim Dean Judi Haber, PhD, ARPN, BC. “We are committed to cultivating leadership competencies in baccalaureate students from underrepresented groups who represent our hope for the future for making significant contributions to reducing health disparities and improving clinical outcomes in academic or clinical settings in which they choose to play a leadership role.”

The 2012 NYUCN NCIN scholars will be selected this fall.&nbsp; Each scholar will select a nurse-mentor, recruited from the NYUCN Alumni Association, faculty, and members of the Upsilon Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International.

“The scholars will benefit from their mentoring relationship and strengthened advisement with further opportunities for advanced education,” said Dr. Mauro.&nbsp; “They will receive expanded offerings for building leadership skills and engage in partnerships for professional development.”

To date, the NCIN scholarship program has supported 20 students (NCIN Round 1 and Round 4 scholars) at NYUCN. Currently, 27% of the Round 1 scholars have returned to NYUCN to begin their MS program.

In response to the expected shortage of registered nurses (RNs) due to aging Baby Boomers and an increased need for health care (AACN, 2011), NYUCN’s 15-Month Accelerated Baccalaureate Program has graduated over 2,000 students since 1990; more than 1,200 since 2005. During the 2010-2011 academic year, it had 202 Accelerated BS graduates, 47 of whom were Dual Degree BS/MS students. NYUCN enrolled 201 Accelerated BS students in Fall 2011 and 121 in Spring 2012. As a result, NYUCN continues to develop culturally competent health professionals and future leaders of the profession.

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 exam 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. NCIN scholars bring life experience that makes them exceptional, mature nursing candidates, and they represent the diverse, culturally competent nursing workforce our nation needs,” said AACN President Jane Kirschling, DNS, RN, FAAN. “NCIN provides the scholarship and support these students need to succeed in school, and thrive in the workforce.”

The 2010 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, recommends increasing the proportion of nurses with a baccalaureate degree or higher, and increasing the diversity of students to create a workforce prepared to meet the demands of diverse populations across the lifespan. The mission of the NCIN program is helping to advance those recommendations, enabling schools to expand student capacity in higher education, and encouraging more diversity.

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.

The New York University College of Nursing is a global leader in nursing education, research, and practice. It offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing; Master of Arts and Post-Master’s Certificate Programs; a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree; and a Doctor of Philosophy in Research Theory and Development.&nbsp; For more information, visit www.nyu.edu/nursing.

About NCIN
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) joined with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) to create New Careers in Nursing: an RWJF Scholarship Program to help alleviate the nursing shortage and increase the diversity of nursing professionals. Through annual grants to schools of nursing, NCIN provides $10,000 scholarships to college graduates with degrees in other fields who wish to transition into nursing through an accelerated baccalaureate or master’s nursing program. For more information, visit www.newcareersinnursing.org.

About RWJF
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 health and health care, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, measurable and timely change. For 40 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. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.

About AACN
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing is the national voice for baccalaureate and graduate programs in nursing. Representing more than 700 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. For more information, visit www.aacn.nche.edu.