The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded $150,000 to the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene (SONDH) to support the Future of Nursing Scholars program at UH.
In its landmark nursing report, the Institute of Medicine recommended that the country double the number of nurses with doctorates. While enrollment in doctorate of nursing practice programs has increased exponentially, PhD enrollment has seen less growth. The Future of Nursing Scholars program was designed to increase PhD-prepared nurses. Doing so will ensure that more nurses are conducting vital research and will also help address the nurse faculty shortage.
“UH Mānoa Nursing is committed to increasing the number of PhD prepared nurses and the redesigned PhD program is more competitive while providing financial support and academic mentorship to ensure student achievement and success,” said Mary G. Boland, DrPH, RN, FAAN, SONDH dean and professor.
The RWJF Future of Nursing Scholars program is creating a diverse cadre of PhD-prepared nurses who are committed to a long-term leadership career; advancing science and discovery through research; strenghtening nursing education’ and furthering transformational change in nursing and health care. It is part of the RWJF’s work to ensure that the U.S. has a diverse, well-trained leadership and workforce to build a culture of health across this country.
“When this program concludes, we will have graduated more than 200 PhD-prepared nurses. RWJF is thrilled to see the program succeed so well, and we are very thankful for the other funders who have joined us in support of this work,” said Susan Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN, co-director of the program and RWJF’s senior adviser for nursing.
UH Mānoa Nursing is one of only 31 schools of nursing selected to receive this award. This award will support tuition, fees and other educational and living expenses for two PhD nursing students over the three years of the program. All students will receive a graduate research assistantship position, and work closely with their mentor/advisor, who will assure opportunities for engagement in research and scholarship, tutoring for scholarly writing and presentation skills, assure team science connections, and provide academic advising.
The UH Mānoa SONDH PhD program strives to graduate independent nursing scholars who can conduct research that generates new knowledge focusing on the health and well-being of diverse populations with a special focus on Hawai‘i and the Asia/Pacific region.
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For more than 45 years the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has worked to improve health and health care. We are working alongside others to build a national Culture of Health that provides everyone in America a fair and just opportunity for health and well-being. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org. Follow the Foundation on Twitter or on Facebook.
The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene is the leader in nursing education and research in Hawai‘i with outreach to Asia and the Pacific Basin. We support the mission of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa: to provide an innovative, caring and multicultural environment in which faculty, students and staff work together to generate and transmit knowledge, wisdom, and values to promote quality of life and health for present and future generations. The school offers the BS, master’s, and doctoral programs. To reflect Hawai‘i's unique cultural diversity and heritage, UH Mānoa Nursing is committed to increasing the representation of Native Hawaiian and other underserved people in all nursing programs. www.nursing.hawaii.edu
The University of Hawai‘i Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawai‘i System. The mission of the University of Hawai‘i Foundation is to unite donors’ passions with the University of Hawai‘i’s aspirations by raising philanthropic support and managing private investments to benefit UH, the people of Hawai‘i and our future generations. www.uhfoundation.org
