The Florida International University School of Nursing (FIU SoN) has received an $820,000 grant from the Health Foundation of South Florida (HFSF) to support the Schools Grow Our Own Nursing Faculty project. Developed in collaboration with the nursing schools at Miami-Dade College (MDC) and Broward Community College (BCC), the Grow program will help produce nursing faculty to fill teaching vacancies at both community colleges by recruiting and financially supporting experienced nurses who enter into the FIU SoNs Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program nurse education track.
“This generous donation from the Health Foundation of South Florida will enable each of our institutions to achieve a common goal in the fight against the nursing shortage,” said Divina Grossman, PhD, RN, ARNP, FAAN, Dean of the FIU School of Nursing. “Through Grow Our Own Nursing Faculty, we will be able to increase the number of nursing educators in the region, which in turn will help to grow the pipeline of future nurses in South Florida,” she continued.
(l-r) Paula Delpech, Director of Admissions & Student Services FIU School of Nursing; Dr. Debbie Papa, Dean of Health Sciences BCC; Dr. Divina Grossman, Dean FIU School of Nursing; Dr. Mary Kontz, Director School of Nursing, MDC.
Set to launch in the spring semester of 2006, Grow Our Own Nursing Faculty was developed by the FIU, MDC and BCC nursing schools in direct response to a critical nursing faculty shortage, which is exacerbating the nursing workforce shortage. Grossman explained, “To ensure proper clinical instruction at the college level, state guidelines for nursing education institutions limit the student-to-faculty ratio at a maximum of 12:1. In order for an institution to increase student admissions, which would translate into an increased nursing workforce, it must first increase its number of nursing faculty.”
The Health Foundation of South Floridas $820,000 award will be used to facilitate the graduation of ten masters level nursing students to complete the SoNs Master of Nursing Science Nurse Education Track. Candidates for the program must be Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) graduates from FIU or other South Florida nursing schools in the last 10 years who are experienced nurses and are interested in becoming nursing faculty.
The HFSF donation will provide ten full-time students in the program with complete scholarships (covering tuition and educational costs). In exchange for their free graduate education, these students will enter into a minimum two-year work commitment to join the nursing faculty at either Miami Dade College or Broward Community College. As a result, both the MDC and BCC will play an integral role in selecting the candidates for the Grow program, as ultimately these graduates will become faculty at their nursing schools.
