College of Nursing Wins $2 Million in Federal Grants

CINCINNATI—The University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Nursing has been awarded over $2 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

"The face of nursing education is continually evolving and we are embracing these changes while also addressing budget limitations and a nationwide nurse faculty shortage,” says College of Nursing Dean Greer Glazer, PhD.

HRSA awards grants to organizations to improve and expand health care services for underserved populations.

The four HRSA grants will be disbursed to the following programs and projects at the college: 

Leadership 2.0: A workforce diversity initiative that supports underrepresented students applying to the college’s traditional BSN program. Leadership 2.0 is a highly competitive, two-year program that provides holistic support through a student’s sophomore year. There are 13 participants in the first cohort. The program is available to high school graduates who meet specific underrepresented diversity criteria. HRSA funding for this program is $1,028,056 over three years. The project is led by Glazer and Karen Bankston, PhD, associate dean of clinical practice, partnership, and community engagement. Research team members include Noemi Cabrera, Adelaide Harris, Rebecca Lee, PhD, Donna Shambley-Ebron, PhD, Emanuel Lewis and Edward Thorton.

Developing Interactive Case Studies for Interprofessional Healthcare Education: The development and implementation of 15 online interactive case studies (ICS) to be used for interprofessional advanced nursing and medical education. In addition, the program will provide health care students the opportunity to experience virtual collaboration and develop cultural sensitivity to the roles of health care colleagues. . HRSA funding is $851,082 over three years. The project is led by Professor Theresa Beery, PhD. The research team also consists of Christine Colella, DNP, Anne Gunderson, EdD, Kathleen Ballman, DNP, Nicole Garritano, Sarah Ehrnschwender, Matt Rota, Steven McKinney and Seth Thompson.
 
Nursing Faculty Loan Program: Funding that will support loans made available to eligible students enrolled in a masters or doctoral nursing program who intend to secure full-time employment as nurse educators upon graduation. Following graduation from the nursing program, up to 85 percent of the loan principal and interest will be canceled in exchange for the loan recipient’s service as a full-time nursing faculty. HRSA funding is $229,493.  The project is led by Glazer. 

Nurse Anesthesia Traineeship: This grant  provides financial support for tuition, fees, and stipends to nurse anesthesia students who plan to work as a nurse anesthetists in underserved areas following graduation. HRSA funding is $19,215. The project is led by Terry Ray, PhD, program director of nurse anesthesia.

"The leadership team at the College of Nursing realizes that HRSA is a major funding source for programs that relate to health services for our most vulnerable populations,” says Donna Martsolf, PhD, the college’s associate dean for research and translation.

These programs, says Martsolf, will enable the college to help create a diverse and culturally competent nursing workforce, which leads to increased access to quality health care, reduced health disparities and improved health equity in all U.S. populations. 

The UC College of Nursing, one of four colleges in UC’s Academic Health Center, currently enrolls over 2,700 students in nursing programs that include RN to BSN, BSN, MSN, DNP and PhD, as well as a Post-Graduate Certificate in Nursing Education and Post-MSN Certificates. Learn more about the college at www.nursing.uc.edu.