The Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University is among the first institutions in the nation to receive funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) through the RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program. Ten, $10,000 grants through this competitive program were provided to individuals in underrepresented groups and to those with disadvantaged backgrounds to support their full-time study in nursing. The College hopes to increase the number of students enrolled in FAU’s accelerated baccalaureate nursing program next year. Grant funding also will be used to help leverage new faculty resources and provide mentoring and leadership development resources to ensure successful program completion by the scholarship recipients.

This groundbreaking national initiative, launched by RWJF and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), aims to help alleviate the nation’s nursing shortage by dramatically expanding the pipeline of students in accelerated nursing programs.

“The rising cost of living in South Florida fueled by the cost of housing, real estate taxes, insurance and wages that have not kept pace with inflation, has resulted in an exodus of nurses in this area,” said Dr. Marlaine Smith, the Helen Karpalenia Persson Eminent Scholar, professor and director of the scholarship program in the College of Nursing. “The New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program will increase the number of students who are able to enroll in our program without having to work. Moreover, we will help to address the nursing shortage by enabling these students to launch their nursing careers sooner through accelerated education.”