Grant is part of a national initiative to support 1,000 nurse scholars in all 50 states
The Ohio State University College of Nursing announced today that, with a new grant of $30,000 from the Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare, matched by $30,000 of its own monies, it will fund the scholarship of three doctoral nursing students in 2016. As a recipient of the Jonas Center grant, the college is part of a national effort to stem the faculty shortage and prepare the next generation of nurses, as a clinical-nurse shortage is anticipated just as an aging population requires care.
The College of Nursing’s 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 PhDs and DNPs, the terminal degrees in the field.
“We are so pleased to receive this grant from the Jonas Center as it provides our doctoral students financial support as well as opportunities for networking and collaboration on a national level,” said College of Nursing Dean Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, RN, CPNP/PMHNP, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN. “This grant further increases our ability to recruit and prepare outstanding doctoral students, who upon graduating, will have a tremendous impact on the education of future nurses and ultimately on the health of people around the globe.”
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. Further, nearly two-thirds of registered nurses over age 54 say they are considering retirement.
“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 are amazed by the talent of this cohort of future nurse leaders,” said Donald Jonas, who co-founded the Center with his wife Barbara Jonas. “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.”
Ohio State’s College of Nursing Jonas Scholars will begin their graduate careers in the fall and will be supported through 2018.
About The Ohio State University College of Nursing
The Ohio State University College of Nursing is the world’s preeminent college known for accomplishing what is considered impossible through its transformational leadership and innovation in nursing and health, evidence-based practice and unsurpassed wellness. As part of the largest health sciences campus in the U.S., the College of Nursing offers seven innovative academic programs. The college’s graduate nursing programs are among the top five percent in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report, while its online graduate program is ranked 4th and its RN to BSN program is ranked 7th as part of Ohio State’s ranking for online bachelor’s degree programs. Annual college enrollment is approximately 1,950 students. The college celebrated its centennial in 2014.
