(NEWARK, N.J., May 22, 2008) – The Foundation of the National Student Nurses’ Association (FNSNA) awarded its $7,500 Promise of Nursing for New Jersey Regional Faculty Fellowships to two Rutgers College of Nursing doctoral students, Donna Ho-Shing and Stephanie Turrise.
The fellowship will help Ho-Shing, a Union, N.J. resident, and Turrise, a Calabash, N.C. resident, with their tuition, academic fees, and book expenses during the Fall 2008 and Spring and Summer 2009 semesters.
“It is a program such as The Promise of Nursing Regional Faculty Fellowship that funding is available to prepare much needed nurse educators,” said Wendy Nehring, associate dean for academic affairs and director of the graduate program at the College of Nursing at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. “We are very proud that they were selected to receive this fellowship.”
The doctoral students are enrolled in an online and blended Ph.D program, the first online program at Rutgers University. The program was developed to attract doctoral candidates who are interested in enrolling in the nursing Ph.D program but can’t attend a traditional classroom setting because of family and work demands.
The Promise of Nursing Regional Faculty Fellowship program seeks to address the nurse faculty shortage by providing funding for registered nurses pursuing graduate education to prepare them for a career as a nurse educator. Funds for the program were contributed by several hospitals and healthcare organizations, by Johnson & Johnson, and by companies with an interest in supporting nursing education.
The FNSNA was created in memory of National Student Nurses’ Association’s first executive director, Frances Tompkins. The Promise of Nursing Regional Scholarship Program, administered by the FNSNA, provides undergraduate and graduate nursing scholarships and grants.
From its headquarters at Rutgers Newark, Rutgers College of Nursing offers a broad range of academic programs on all three Rutgers campuses. The college offers a master’s program with unique practitioner specialties, a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree, and the first to offer a Ph.D. nursing degree in New Jersey.