Jennifer Bauman, an incoming doctoral degree student at The Ohio State University College of Nursing, has received an esteemed Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholar Program grant award.
Launched in 2008, the Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholar Program at the Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence addresses the nation’s dire shortage of nursing faculty by preparing nurses with doctoral degrees to step into this critical role. The largest program of its kind, this program now includes more than 200 students in nearly 85 schools across the United States.
Bauman has worked for three years as a staff and charge nurse on the medical/surgical progressive care unit at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, serving as a preceptor and co-chair of the education committee during the past two years. She completed a student nurse internship in the neurosurgical intensive care unit at the Mayo Clinic and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Luther College. She will begin her PhD studies at the college in August 2012. Her research interests include patient decision-making, treatment adherence and chronic disease management, especially related to diabetes and obesity.
“Jennifer is emblematic of the high caliber of incoming and current doctoral degree nursing students we have recruited at the college,” said Pamela Salsberry, PhD, director of the PhD program and professor at the College of Nursing. “Our graduates serve as scientists and scholars in the profession of nursing, with the expectation that they will transform healthcare organizations through their contributions.”
The new Jonas Nurse Leaders cohort includes 142 PhD and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) scholars representing all 50 states. The scholars will be funded through 2014 with $2 million from the Jonas Center, which the schools leveraged to raise an additional $1.5 million. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing will administer the program, bringing its vast experience and expertise in nursing leadership programs.
“We wanted the Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholar Program to dramatically change the landscape of nursing education and, ultimately, the future of nursing and healthcare,” said Donald B. Jonas, co-founder. “We feel we’ve made great strides towards the first goal and look forward to the impact these remarkable men and women will have on the healthcare of future generations.”
In addition to growing the ranks of nursing faculty (as graduates are expected to teach), Jonas scholars will also expand the number of advanced practice nurses who can serve as primary-care providers and healthcare leaders.
More information about the Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholar Program is available at jonasphilanthropies.org/jonas-scholars.
