Robert Wood Johnson Nursing Education Initiative

[from Philanthropy News Digest]

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Launches Nursing Education Initiative

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has announced a two-year, $4.3 million initiative to advance state and regional strategies designed to create a more highly educated nursing workforce.

Led by the Tri-Council for Nursing, whose members include theAmerican Association of Colleges of Nursing, the National League for Nursing, the American Nurses Association, and the American Organization of Nurse Executives, the Academic Progression in Nursing (APIN) initiative will provide funding of up to $300,000 over two years to each of nine state action coalitions that have developed or made substantial progress toward achieving a 2010 Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendation that 80 percent of nurses have a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree or higher by 2020. To date, roughly half the nurses in the United States have at least a baccalaureate degree.

To advance other recommendations in the IOM report, RWJF also is supporting the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, a collaborative effort to help improve quality in the nursing field and transform the way Americans receive health care. Coordinated through the Center to Champion Nursing in America, an initiative of AARP, the AARP Foundation, and the foundation, the campaign supports forty-eight state-based action coalitions around the country.

"Our action coalitions around the country have generated extraordinary collaboration between nurses and other leaders, who are working together to build a more highly educated and diverse nursing workforce, promote nurse leadership, support inter-professional collaboration, ensure that nurses practice to the full extent of their education and training, and improve data collection," said Susan B. Hassmiller, senior advisor for nursing at RWJF. "We are confident that the new models they create will be replicable and help achieve our goal to have 80 percent of the nursing workforce be prepared at the baccalaureate level or higher by 2020."

“Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Launches Initiative to Support Academic Progression in Nursing.” Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Press Release 3/21/12.

Advanced Nursing Education Grants

This announcement solicits applications for the Advanced Nursing Education (ANE) program from eligible entities that provide advanced nursing education specialty programs that educate registered nurses to become nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, nurse educators, nurse administrators, public health nurses and other advanced nurse specialists. For purposes of this section, the term "advanced education nurses" means individuals trained in advanced degree programs including individuals in combined R.N./Master's degree programs, post-nursing master's certificate programs, or, in the case of nurse midwives, in certificate programs in existence on the date that is one day prior to the date of enactment of this section, to serve as nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse-midwives, midwives, nurse anesthetists, nurse educators, nurse administrators, public health nurses or other nurse specialists determined by the Secretary to require advanced nurse education. Advanced nursing education programs include master's and doctoral degree programs, or in the case of certificate nurse-midwifery programs, those in existence on November 12, 1998. 

Link to Full Announcement

https://grants.hrsa.gov/webExternal/SFO.asp?ID=ED37ACD3-26AD-4B1F-B73B-1E702C4BD8D2

If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact:

Primary Care Training and Enhancement Physician Assistant Training in Primary Care Program

Description

This announcement solicits applications for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Primary Care Training and Enhancement (PCTE) Physician Assistant Training in Primary Care Program. The purpose of the PCTE programs is to develop and enrich the education of future primary care clinicians, teachers, and researchers. The Physician Assistant Training in Primary Care Program supports primary care curriculum and infrastructure development for physician assistant students and teachers. Funds may be used to: a) Plan, develop, and operate an education program to train physician assistants to practice in primary care settings; and b) Plan, develop and operate an education program for individuals who will teach primary care in physician assistant training programs, preparing trainees to enter practice in primary care settings. 

Link to Full Announcement

https://grants.hrsa.gov/webExternal/SFO.asp?ID=DE706E55-A407-4ADD-87FD-AB9D8CEC71CA

Expected Number of Awards:	11
Estimated Total Program Funding:	$2,500,000

Career grant

• AHRQ Mentored Career Enhancement Award in Patient Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR) for Mid-Career and Senior Investigators (K18).

Nursing Faculty Loan Program

This announcement solicits applications for the Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP), to increase the number of qualified nursing faculty. The NFLP provides funding to schools of nursing to support the establishment and operation of a distinct, interest-bearing NFLP loan fund. Participating schools of nursing make loans from the fund to assist registered nurses in completing their graduate education to become qualified nurse faculty. The program offers partial loan forgiveness for borrowers that graduate and serve as full-time nursing faculty for the prescribed period of time. Under the Affordable Care Act, Public Law 111-148, Title VIII, section 846A was amended to increase the annual loan limit to $35,500 from $30,000 and will be adjusted after FY 2011 to provide for cost-of-attendance increases for the yearly loan rate and the aggregate loan. Section 847(f) added a funding priority for sections 847 and 846A of the PHS Act. This funding priority will be awarded to School of Nursing Student Loans that supports doctoral nursing students. Eligible applicants are accredited collegiate schools of nursing that offer an advanced nursing degree program(s) that prepare graduate students to teach. The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is authorized to enter into an agreement with the school and make an award to the school in the form of a Federal Capital Contribution (FCC). The school must use the FCC to establish a distinct account called the NFLP fund. The school is required to deposit an Institutional Capital Contribution (ICC) that is equal to no less than one-ninth of the FCC. The account may only be used to make loans to graduate nursing students who agree to meet the requirements of the NFLP and for the costs associated with the collection of the loans and the interest on the loans. Participating schools make NFLP loans from the loan fund to eligible graduate (master's and doctoral) nursing students to complete their nursing education programs. Students may receive NFLP loans up to $35,500 per academic year for a maximum of five years to support the cost of tuition, fees, books, laboratory expenses and other reasonable education expenses. Following graduation from the nursing program, the nursing school will cancel up to 85 percent of the loan principal and interest in exchange for the loan recipient's service as a full-time nursing faculty at a school of nursing, with a certain percentage cancelled each year for up to four years. The loan cancellation over the four-year period is as follows: 20 percent of the principal and interest may be canceled upon completion of each of the first, second, and third years of full time employment, which, after the three year period, totals 60 percent, followed by the cancellation of 25 percent of the principal and interest upon completion of the fourth year of full-time employment as a faculty member in an accredited school of nursing. Repayment on the remaining 15 percent of the loan balance is postponed during the cancellation period. NFLP loans are repayable and/or cancelled over a ten-year repayment period that begins 9 months after the individual ceases to pursue a course of study at a school of nursing. NFLP loans accrue interest at a rate of three percent per annum for loan recipients who establish employment as nurse faculty. 

Link to Full Announcement

https://grants.hrsa.gov/webExternal/SFO.asp?ID=DE42BC63-0960-4286-898A-A146126F5502

Nurse Anesthetist Traineeship Grants

The purpose of the Nurse Anesthetist Traineeship (NAT) Program is to provide traineeship support for licensed registered nurses enrolled as full-time students in a master's or doctoral nurse anesthesia program. Traineeships will pay all or part of the costs of the tuition, books, and fees, and the reasonable living expenses of the individual during the period for which the traineeship is provided. This program is authorized by Title VIII of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, Section 811(a)(2), (42 U.S.C. 296j(a)(2)), as amended by Section 5308 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, Public Law 111-148. 

Link to Full Announcement

https://grants.hrsa.gov/webExternal/SFO.asp?ID=97B6627E-03A8-47A0-8912-C593AE718C8D

Expected Number of Awards:	100
Estimated Total Program Funding:	$2,250,000