The School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Miami is proud to announce it has been awarded a new grant of $20,000 from Jonas Philanthropies, a leading national philanthropic funder of graduate nursing education. Matched by the School, the grant will fund the scholarship of two doctoral nursing students in 2018.
As a grant recipient, UM’s School of Nursing and Health Studies joins Jonas Philanthropies’ efforts to improve the quality of healthcare by investing in nursing scholars whose research and clinical foci specifically address our nation’s most urgent needs. The grant will empower and support nursing students with financial assistance, leadership development and networking to expand the pipeline of future nursing faculty, researchers and advanced practice nurses.
With 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 each day, 1 an entire generation of the healthcare workforce is aging at a rapid pace. 2 This, coupled with care for the 22.2 million veterans living across the country, 3 means the United States is facing a dire need for a new era of highly educated nursing professionals. The School of Nursing and Health Studies and Jonas Philanthropies believe the investment in the education of nurse leaders is critically important to improve the healthcare system.
“I am deeply pleased that our Jonas Philanthropies award will enable the School of Nursing and Health Studies to continue preparing a greater number of future nurse leaders, furthering our ongoing commitment to the IOM Future of Nursing Report mandate to double the number of doctorate-prepared nurses by 2020,” said Cindy L. Munro, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, FAAN, FAANP, FAAAS, dean and professor, UM School of Nursing and Health Studies. “Students selected for this scholarship program show the greatest promise to undertake academic careers in schools of nursing and fill the critical ongoing need for a pipeline of nurse faculty leaders.”
The School’s Jonas Nurse Scholars are part of the new 2018-2020 cohort of more than 200 Scholars pursuing PhD, DNP or EdD degrees at 92 universities across the country whose doctoral work will focus on critical health priorities such as Chronic Health, Environmental Health, Ophthalmic Health, Policy & Education, Preventive Health, Psychiatric-Mental Health, and/or Veterans Health. They join more than 1,000 Jonas Scholar alumni representing 157 universities across all 50 states.
“Each year, we grow more in awe of all our Jonas Scholars have achieved. It is with great honor that we welcome and celebrate this new cohort of nurse leaders,” said Donald Jonas, who co-founded Jonas Philanthropies with his wife Barbara Jonas. “With more than 1,200 Jonas Scholars to date who are committed to meeting the greatest health needs of our time, we look forward to continuing our work with our partner nursing schools and expanding our impact to advance care for the country’s most vulnerable populations.”
The School’s Jonas Scholars for 2018-2020 are Ernesto Carnota, Jonas Scholar PhD Program – Psych-Mental Health, and Gilda Pamphile, BSN ’09, Jonas Veterans Healthcare Scholar DNP Program – Community-based Care.
Carnota is a certified Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) through the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. Prior to joining the PhD in Nursing program at the SONHS this August, he worked in the trauma recovery room at Jackson’s Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in Miami. His current research focuses on how stigma impacts post-exposure prophylaxis usage and HIV-prevention efforts among gay/bisexual Hispanic men. Pamphile is in the BSN-DNP Nurse Anesthesia Program at the SONHS with an expected December 2019 graduation. Her scholarly project looks at the issue of post-surgery opioid abuse among veterans. A CCRN with eight-plus years of experience serving multicultural populations with health disparities, Pamphile has worked in telemetry, cardiac care, and cardiac intensive care units at UHealth Tower (formerly University of Miami Hospital) and Broward General Medical Center. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the SONHS in 2009.
Previous Jonas Scholars at the UM School of Nursing and Health Studies have used their awards to advance knowledge in health issues related to military combat, mental health, suicide, and HIV/AIDS-related stigma.
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About the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies
Celebrating its 70th anniversary, the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies (SONHS) is a world-class healthcare education and research enterprise. It ranks #26 nationwide in NIH funding, and its top-notch facilities include a five-story, 41,000-square-foot Simulation Hospital. Accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the SONHS educates students at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels to provide compassionate, quality, culturally competent care. Graduates’ first-time pass rates of 97.22% on NCLEX-RN (state nursing licensure) and 98% for nurse practitioner certification are South Florida’s highest and well above national averages. U.S. News & World Report’s Best Nursing Schools 2019 ranks the school’s MSN program #32 and DNP program #42 nationally.
1 http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2010/12/29/baby-boomers-retire/
2 https://www.ncsbn.org/summary_2013.pdf
3https://www.gao.gov/assets/590/585743.pdf
