As a recipient of the Jonas Center grant, the UM School of Nursing and Health Studies is part of a national effort to stem the faculty shortage and prepare the next generation of nurses – critical as a clinical nurse shortage is anticipated while an increasing aging population requires care.
The School of Nursing and Health Studies’ Jonas Scholars join more than 1,000 future nurse educators and leaders at 140 universities across all 50 states supported by Jonas Center programs such as the Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholars Program and the Jonas Veterans Healthcare Program . These scholarships support nurses pursuing PhDs and DNPs, the terminal degrees in the field.
“The School of Nursing and Health Studies is committed to addressing the IOM Future of Nursing report’s mandate for doubling the number of doctorate-prepared nurses by 2020,” say Dean Nilda Peragallo Montano. “The support from the Jonas Center helps us do this. Students selected for this scholarship program will be those who show the greatest promise to undertake academic careers in schools of nursing and alleviate the severe nurse faculty shortage.”
As the nation’s leading philanthropic funder of graduate nursing education, the Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare 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 amazed by the talent of this cohort of future nurse leaders,” said Donald Jonas, who co-founded the Center with Barbara Jonas, his wife. “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.”
Previous Jonas Scholars at the UM School of Nursing and Health Studies have utilized their scholarships to contribute to the field’s knowledge of topics such as military combat and mental health, as well HIV/AIDS-related stigma. The school’s current Jonas Scholars will begin their graduate careers in the fall and will be supported through 2018.
Established in 1948 as South Florida’s first collegiate nursing program, the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Miami has a distinguished tradition of preparing nurses to provide compassionate quality care to local, national and international communities. Nursing students at the undergraduate and graduate levels are educated by renowned scholars, and exposed to a broad range of clinical experiences and cutting-edge research. Since its inception, the program has provided diverse educational opportunities for over 6,000 nursing professionals at the undergraduate, masters and doctoral levels. The curriculum includes degree programs leading to the BSN, the MSN, the Ph.D. and DNP degrees, as well as the BSHS (Bachelor of Science in Health Science) and BSPH (Bachelor of Science in Public Health). For more information, please visit the school website at www.miami.edu/sonhs.
The University of Miami’s mission is to educate and nurture students, to create knowledge, and to provide service to our community and beyond. Committed to excellence, and proud of the diversity of our University family, we strive to develop future leaders of our nation and the world. www.miami.edu
