AMN Healthcare Helps Combat Nursing Shortage Through Education
http://www.earthtimes.org
SAN DIEGO, Sept 4 /PRNewswire/ — AMN Healthcare, the nation’s largest healthcare staffing firm, continues to help tackle the nation’s nursing shortage by providing scholarships at the baccalaureate (BSN) and masters innursing (MSN) level, encouraging nurses to advance their careers and continueto grow in the profession.
Now in its third year, the AMN Healthcare Annual Scholarship Program has already distributed over $20,000 in scholarship money to travel nurses who are seeking to further their careers by pursuing either a BSN or an MSN degree. This is in addition to the existing scholastic endowments and nursing scholarships that AMN Healthcare has directly awarded or funded to nursing schools in 2008 to help their new students enter or advance the nursing profession.
The recipients of this year’s Annual Scholarship Program are:
— Renae Shire, RN from Westlake, OH
— William Mann, RN from Northridge, IL
— Amy Della Rosa, RN from Rumford, RI
— Paula Henson, RN from Swannanoa, NC
— Stephanie Johnson, RN from Durand, IL
“By offering nurses a chance to fulfill their educational goals, we’re also helping them find satisfaction in their work, encouraging nurses to share their experiences with others who might enter the profession, and adding to the potential pipeline of future nurse educators,” said Marcia Faller, RN, MSN, chief clinical officer and executive vice president, operations for AMN Healthcare. “We created this scholarship program to help dedicated nurses advance their career and to enhance the future opportunities for nurses who are entering the profession.”
Recent studies by nursing experts — featured in publications such as Journal of Nursing Administration and the Journal of Advanced Nursing — have shown that nurses who achieve a BSN or MSN degree can offer better care to their patients and are more likely to continue in nursing, thereby reducing turnover rates that exacerbate the shortage. In addition, with a greater number of more highly educated nurses in the workforce, there will be more nurses qualified to teach, creating more opportunities for new students to enter nursing schools.
Candidates for the 2008 scholarships demonstrated clinical excellence in their work experiences through AMN and submitted an application and an essay about their pursuit of an advanced nursing degree. This year’s essay topic was: How advancing your education has impacted the quality of care you provide as a travel nurse.
This year’s winners expressed their individual goals in nursing but also reflected a common theme among their essays — pursuing a higher degree not only allowed them to advance their career but also helped them to feel a personal sense of accomplishment.
