Department of Nursing
Student Resources
Announcements:
November 3, 2008
We are pleased to announce the renaissance of the DePaul Nursing Student Organization and its formation as a chapter of the National Student Nurses Association:.
CALL TO MEETING:
Wednesday, November 5th at 12 (noon), in the 3rd floor lab
AGENDA:
- Election of Officers
- What comes next is up to us! Some ideas that have already come up
include social outings - especially mixing cohorts, volunteer days at
local organizations, tutoring, educational workshops, journal clubs,
inviting alumni and recruiters to speak about career opportunities, and
tons more.
See you at the first meeting!
To join NSNA, sign up at https://nsnamembership.org/Step1Member.aspx?Type=New
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October 20, 2008
We are pleased to partner with AfterCollege to provide you with access to announcements for externships, professional positions, and scholarships for DePaul University nursing students. Simply click on the link for the Nursing Job Resource Center to the right.
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September 9, 2008
DePaul’s Department of Nursing Receives
RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Grant
Call for information: 773-325-7280
$100,000 Grant Helps Address the Nation’s Nursing Shortage
DePaul University’s Department of Nursing was recently awarded a one-time grant of $100,000 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) through the RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program. DePaul University, which is among the first institutions in the nation to receive funding from this competitive program, will use the grant to award scholarships to students enrolled in the university’s accelerated master’s entry to nursing practice (MENP) program.
Launched by RWJF and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), the RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program is a groundbreaking national initiative that seeks to help alleviate the nation’s nursing shortage by dramatically increasing the number of students in accelerated nursing programs.
“This program aims to safeguard the health of the nation by helping to ease the nurse and nurse faculty shortage,” said RWJF President Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., MBA. “This new initiative also will advance our strategic goal of promoting leadership in the health professions.”
Through the RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program, DePaul will distribute 10 scholarships in the amount of $10,000 each to MENP students during the 2008-2009 academic year. Accelerated entry-level nursing programs, such DePaul’s MENP program, offer the most efficient route to licensure as a registered nurse for adults who have already completed a baccalaureate or graduate degree in a discipline other than nursing. Although enrollment in accelerated nursing programs has steadily increased over the past few years, many potential students who already have a college degree are unable to enroll since their degree disqualifies them from most federal financial aid programs for entry-level students.
When awarding the scholarships, DePaul will give preference to students from groups underrepresented in nursing or from disadvantaged backgrounds, including persons of African-American, Asian-American, or Hispanic descent; native Spanish speakers; and men from disadvantaged backgrounds. According to the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice, diversifying the nursing profession is essential to meeting the health care needs of the nation and to reducing health disparities that exist among many underserved populations.
The Department of Nursing also will use grant funding to help leverage new faculty resources and provide mentoring and leadership development resources to ensure successful program completion by scholarship recipients.
“We are tremendously excited about the award program and its potential to increase diversity not only in our program but in the profession at large,” says Susan Poslusny, Ph.D., RN, chair of the nursing department and project director. “Diversity in the classroom is key to preparing practitioners that are culturally competent and engaged with their community for social justice.”
DePaul University’s Department of Nursing was the first program in the State of Illinois to offer a graduate direct-entry program in nursing, the MENP program, and remains a leader in promoting advanced educational standards for professional nursing. The MENP program includes study of all content that is essential for baccalaureate-prepared nurses, plus advanced preparation in core essentials for advanced practice nursing including advanced physiology, pathophysiology, health assessment, nursing and health promotion theory, research, health policy, statistics, and epidemiology. The program requires students to complete 107 quarter credits spanning two full-time academic years and one summer. Graduates of the program receive the master of science degree with a major in generalist nursing and are eligible to take the NCLEX-RN, the licensure examination for registered nurses.
Interested persons should first apply on-line to the MENP program and request financial assistance through the New Leaders in Nursing Program at DePaul University. Admission requirements include a bachelor’s degree in any field, transcripts from all previous colleges attended, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, and a personal statement reflecting career goals as a nurse and insight about how prior education and experiences have prepared the applicant for a professional life as a nurse. The personal statement will be considered in admission decisions in conjunction to academic credentials and test scores.
Award recipients will be expected to take a two-credit seminar during each of the first two quarters focusing on writing and leadership development, participate in study groups and tutoring as appropriate, meet quarterly with a faculty advisor, and attend at least one professional nursing conference accompanied by a nursing faculty member. Scholarships will be awarded during the first year of attendance.
AACN serves as the National Program Office for this RWJF initiative and oversees the grant application submission and review processes. For more information about this program, see http://www.newcareersinnursing.org.