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NSP II Grant Helps Bolster Nursing Faculty, Address Nursing Shortage
February 8, 2012
Baltimore, Md. – The University of Maryland School of Nursing’s Institute for Educators in Nursing and Health Professions was recently awarded a $1 million, four-year Nurse Support Program II grant from the Maryland Higher Education Commission. The purpose of the grant is to increase the capacity of nurses in Maryland by implementing statewide initiatives to grow the number of nurses prepared to function effectively in a faculty role. By increasing the number of nursing faculty, more students can be admitted to schools of nursing in Maryland, reducing the nursing shortage.
“To achieve the goals of this project, we will develop initiatives to orient, guide, support, and provide opportunities for networking and collaborating,” says Louise Jenkins, PhD, RN, FAHA, professor and co-director of the grant and the Institute for Educators in Nursing and Health Professions.
The grant has three initiatives: 1) develop statewide orientation programs, partly online and partly in the classroom, to prepare nurses transitioning from clinical to faculty roles; 2) support nursing faculty in Maryland with online resources to enhance their knowledge and skills; and 3) facilitate ongoing faculty development, networking, and collaboration through regular teaching grand rounds and workshops, and an annual conference focusing on current issues affecting nursing faculty.
“This grant will allow us to build on the successes of the institute, created in 2004, to address the nursing faculty shortage,” says Carol O’Neil, PhD, RN, CNE, associate professor and co-director of the grant and the institute. “Increasing the capacity of nurses in Maryland will help meet the health care needs of our residents.”
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The University of Maryland School of Nursing, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest nursing schools, and is ranked eleventh nationally. Enrolling more than 1,700 students in its baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders who shape the profession of nursing and impact the health care environment.