Goal of program is to increase number of nursing faculty and undergraduate program capacity
The UMass Dartmouth College of Nursing today announced the awarding of its first Jonas Center Nursing Scholarship to Rachel Allen, a third-year PhD student from Newport, Rhode Island.
Allen is studying the effects of deinstitutionalization on nursing and the current mental health system. She came to UMass Dartmouth to earn her doctorate after receiving her BS from Thomas Jefferson University and her MS from the University of Pennsylvania. She currently practices as a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Integrated Psychiatry in Cranston, RI.
The Jonas Nurse Scholar program is an invitation-only program that supports the development of doctoral nursing students. The goal of the program is to increase the number of PhD-prepared faculty available to teach in nursing schools nationwide at time when nursing faculty shortage limits undergraduate nursing opportunities.
Supported by the Jonas Center for Nursing, students are provided financial assistance, leadership development and networking support to expand the pipeline of future nurse faculty. As part of their scholarship experience, all Jonas Scholars attend the Jonas Nurse Leaders program, a three-day event in Washington, DC, designed to provide networking, mentoring and educational opportunities with prominent nurse educators, executives and policy experts in the field.
The UMass Dartmouth nursing PhD program began in 2008 and prepares nurses with bachelor’s and master’s degrees to develop the knowledge, skills, and habits of a nurse scientist through mentorship, teaching and research experience.
To date, 13 students have completed the program and are currently working in diverse settings including health care facilities, schools of nursing and public health departments. An emphasis on education, chronic illness and scientific development are hallmarks of the program.
CONTACT: John Hoey, 508.264.5920 or jhoey@umassd.edu