UConn School of Nursing Receives $3 Million Grant to Help Students with Disadvantaged Backgrounds Become Nurse Practitioners
The UConn School of Nursing is pleased to announce it has received a nationally competitive grant award from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration for a groundbreaking program. The innovative “PATH to PCNP” Clinical-Academic Partnership aims to increase diversity among primary care providers in medically underserved communities in Connecticut.
The nearly $3 million grant will provide scholarship support to 24 undergraduate students with disadvantaged backgrounds each year for five years. Six students from each academic year – freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior – will receive scholarships starting in the 2020-21 academic year.
“The mission of the School of Nursing is to educate nursing scholars, clinicians, and leaders, with the goal of advancing the health of individuals, communities, and systems,” says School of Nursing Dean Deborah Chyun. “The funding provided through this innovative program for underrepresented students will enhance their ability to focus on their education and graduate with minimal debt, in the hopes that they will go on to serve the areas of our state that are most in need.”
The group of faculty members leading this initiative at the School of Nursing includes: Ivy Alexander, Ph.D., APRN, ANP-BC, FAANP, FAAN; Natalie Shook, Ph.D.; Marianne Snyder, Ph.D., MSN, RN; and Thomas Van Hoof, MD, EdD, FACP.
Despite efforts to recruit registered nurses with disadvantaged backgrounds to the School of Nursing’s primary care nurse practitioner (PCNP) master’s program, numbers of such students remain low, according to Alexander. In order to increase diversity among PCNPs, the School must first increase successful completion of the bachelor’s program among disadvantaged students, and without overwhelming debt.
The objective of “PATH to PCNP” (Provide Academic Transformational Help for disadvantaged nursing students to become Primary Care Nurse Practitioners) is to help such students graduate on time through a “fast track” undergraduate program. The partnership will: increase educational support for students with disadvantaged backgrounds; foster a sense of belonging and ability for positive self-care to reduce stress, anxiety and depression; and infuse primary care curriculum and experiences in medically underserved communities.
“Students participating in the ‘PATH to PCNP’ Program will have primary care experiences during their undergraduate nursing education and graduate ready to begin graduate school to become primary care nurse practitioners,” the faculty team says.
“PATH to PCNP” is a partnership between the UConn School of Nursing and Community Health Center Inc. Senior-level students in the program will complete a capstone clinical rotation at CHCI, gaining experience providing primary nursing care to patients with complex health issues in medically underserved communities. CHCI’s Chief Nursing Officer Mary Blankson, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, will lead the initiative at CHCI, which is one of the largest federally qualified health centers in the country.
