The School of Nursing at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans has been awarded a $700,000 grant over two years by the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services to help students pursuing advanced practice primary care nursing degrees meet educational expenses. The money can be used for tuition, books, fees, and reasonable living expenses.
Eligible full-time students in the LSUHSC Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner Program may receive up to $22,000, and eligible part-time students up to $11,000. Students who receive awards will be appointed as trainees in HRSA's Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship (AENT). Trainees must remain in good academic standing, in accordance with the LSUHSC standards.
The Project Director of the grant is Dr. Marsha Bennett, LSUHSC Associate Dean for Nursing Research, Scholarship, and Science. She will work closely with Dr. Shelley Jeanfreau, Program Director for the LSUHSC Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner Program, in the management of the grant.
"This is the first year that HRSA has employed a competitive grant process for the Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship," notes Dr. Bennett. "The purpose of the program is to increase the number of primary care advanced practice nurses."
According to HRSA, the current primary care workforce in the United States is inadequate to meet the growing demand for primary care services. Moreover, the aging workforce, the increasing demand for preventative health services and the expansion of health care coverage from the Affordable Care Act will likely widen the gap between demand and the available primary care workforce. Programs such as this help to increase access to primary care services and to expand the primary care workforce.
The LSUHSC School of Nursing Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner Program is a Master's level program. In addition to a Master's Degree, a minimum of 500 clinical hours are required for certification. The LSUHSC program curriculum includes general core and advanced practice core courses as well as primary care family nurse practitioner courses that focus on the advanced nursing management of health conditions across the lifespan in primary care settings. The current plan of study provides opportunities for more than 700 hours of clinical experience.
The mission of LSUHSC School of Nursing is to provide local, national, and international leadership in the education of professional nurses to function as generalists, advanced practitioners, educators, scholars, and researchers who shape the delivery of nursing practice and education.
The Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship Program is an approximately 56 year old Federal program administered by the Bureau of Health Professions, Division of Nursing. This is a student financial aid program for advanced education registered nurses. Grants are made to eligible institutions which in turn, select eligible students for AENT traineeship support.
Concerns grow over quality of care as investor groups buy not-for-profit nursing homes