Grant funds schooling of underrepresented nurses

In the face of a national nurse shortage, the UT School of Nursing received a $120,000 grant to distribute scholarships to males or to students of an ethnic minority. The grant came from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on health policy.

“We want to have a greater diversity in the workforce because the population is becoming diverse,” said nursing professor Carole Taxis, who wrote the grant.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than one million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2016.

The scholarships will be awarded to 12 incoming graduate students in the school’s Alternate Entry Master of Science in Nursing program starting June 2010. Each student will receive $10,000 to spend however he or she desires on nursing education.

The grant stipulates that the scholarships be given to students from groups underrepresented in the nursing field, Taxis said.

“Nursing has been seen as primarily feminine role, and it’s been very difficult for people of color to be able to afford a master’s degree,” she said.

Out of 125 students enrolled in the accelerated nursing program, 13 students are men and 33 are of an ethnic minority, according to the School of Nursing.

“I think men have a lot to give to nursing to help it develop as a profession and [bring] some unique qualities to nursing,” said clinical nursing instructor Scott Hudson.

The foundation notified UT in August 2009 that it received the competitive grant, which was given to 56 other schools this year.

The foundation also stipulated that UT develop its grant recipients as leaders. Taxis plans to implement monthly workshops, seminars and mentors. The School of Nursing has not decided whether  or not to limit these supplements to the 12 recipients, Taxis said.

The accelerated nursing program is designed for students who already hold a non-nursing bachelor’s degree and want to get their Registered Nursing license and their Master of Science in Nursing degree. The program takes about three years to complete. Students typically pay about $4,600 per semester for in-state tuition and $9,000 per semester for out-of-state tuition.

In 2008, the foundation awarded $21,935 to the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs’ Center for Health and Social Policy.

Graduate nursing students accepted to the accelerated program can apply for the scholarship in spring 2010.

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