February 21, 2011

CareFirst Scholarships to aid Nursing master’s students

In collaboration with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing will offer two CareFirst Scholarships for the upcoming academic year. The scholarship awards $40,000 in tuition and living expenses—for two years—to students in the master’s program who intend to become nursing faculty members upon graduation.

Getting this level of funding for two master’s students “is just phenomenal—I have no other word for it,” said Julie Stanik-Hutt, director of the master’s program. “And it’s even better in terms of preparing people to become faculty members. Every day we’re encountering more and more difficulty finding nursing faculty. Having this money for nurses who have an interest in teaching is invaluable.”

Scholarship recipients must enroll full time and complete the 12-credit Nurse Educator Certificate option as part of the master’s program. In addition, they must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and agree to teach at a school of nursing in Maryland, Northern Virginia or the District of Columbia for at least three years following graduation.

The scholarship aims to address the country’s growing nurse faculty shortage as part of the CareFirst Commitment Campaign.