Dominic Baez – Editor in Chief. The majority of Linfield students receive some sort of financial aid, typically in the range of thousands of dollars per person. Just imagine how many scholarships could be awarded from $120,000.
For the second consecutive year, the Linfield-Good Samaritan School of Nursing in Portland has received just that from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through the RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship
program.
“The NCIN opportunity fit well with the mission of the college and the school of nursing and built on ongoing work on the Portland campus to increase the diversity of the student body,” Peggy Wros, associate dean of the nursing school and professor of nursing, said. “The nursing school worked with Catherine Jarmin Miller, who is the college grant writer, to develop a proposal that included a description of our accelerated nursing program, project outcomes and an evaluation plan.”
According to the RWJF Web site, the foundation “seeks to improve the health and health care of all Americans. [Its] efforts focus on improving both the health of everyone in America and their health care — how it’s delivered, how it’s paid for and how well it does for patients and their families.”
Last year, the Portland campus used the $120,000 from the foundation to award 12 students $10,000 each in an effort to boost the student population — particularly in groups underrepresented in the nursing field, such as men and minorities.
This year’s additional $120,000 grant will provide 12 more $10,000 scholarships.
The scholarships will be awarded to students who are enrolled in Linfield’s 18-month accelerated program this summer, increasing enrollment from 48 to 60.
“With the NCIN grant, we will admit 60 students for the second year,” Wros said.
According to the RWJF Web site, the $10,000 scholarships will be given to entry-level nursing students in accelerated programs of the 2010-2011 academic year.
“More diversity in the classroom and on the campus enriches learning for all as students prepare to practice
nursing in a multicultural society,” Wros said. “The leadership component of the grant has allowed the school of nursing to expand their peer mentorship program.”
The RWJF New Careers in Nursing scholarships support accelerated programs that offer the most efficient route to licensure as a registered nurse to adults who have already completed a baccalaureate or graduate degree in a discipline other than nursing.
At Linfield, eligible students must have a BA or BS by Jan. 30, 2009, be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and gain acceptance to the school’s nursing program. Applications will be available in spring 2010.
For more information about this program, visit www.newcareersinnursing.org.