PRINCETON, NJ – In a bid to address the nation's nursing shortage, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded the first round of $28 million in grants to 15 junior faculty nurses around the country.
The RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars program will provide up to $350,000 to each of the 15 nursing faculty over three years to further their careers as "future leaders" in nursing education.
"If we want to address the serious shortage of nurses in this country, we must focus on recruiting more nurse educators to the classroom and retaining them in the academic setting," said RWJF president Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD.
Despite a rise in nursing applicants in recent years, schools have turned away thousands of prospective students due to lack of faculty, training sites, and funding. The Nurse Faculty Scholars program, part of the Foundation's Human Capital Portfolio, aims to strengthen ties between institutional reputation and faculty success by funding research and career development opportunities for junior faculty.
"This program is not just a major boost to the careers of these junior nursing scholars, it is an enhancement to nursing science, the healthcare system and our nation as a whole," said Jacquelyn Campbell, the program's director and professor in the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, which will administer the program.
The scholars will conduct research projects while teaching at their respective universities. Outward Bound Professional in Colorado will provide the first leadership training activities.
Over 70 candidates applied for the grant. Applicants were required to be junior faculty members with at least two but no more than five years of experience in a faculty role.