Funding for Research, Career Development Available to Junior Nurse Faculty Members

RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars Program's Call for Proposals Is Unique, Exciting Opportunity

PRINCETON, N.J., Jan. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Nurse Faculty Scholars (NFS) program has issued a call for proposals for its fourth cohort.  The program seeks talented junior nurse faculty who are committed to teaching excellence and are interested in taking their research to the next level. The deadline for applications is February 8, 2011. RWJF will award up to 12 grants in this round.

Through the program, scholars: receive a three-year $350,000 research grant and salary support; have protected time to focus on program activities; work closely with mentors; and receive training to help them plan their academic careers, conduct research, influence health policy and develop leadership skills.

"The RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars program gave me the resources and support to intensify my work as a researcher, and at the same time, the opportunity to develop as an educator, policy-maker, and nursing leader," said Robert Atkins, Ph.D., R.N., a Nurse Faculty Scholar who is an assistant professor of nursing and childhood studies at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. "The questions I have explored as a researcher came from my experiences working as a nurse in high-poverty, urban neighborhoods. Pursuing answers to these questions is crucial to improving the health and well-being of youth living in distressed communities, and the Nurse Faculty scholarship is helping to bring those answers within reach for us all."

The Nurse Faculty Scholars are a culturally and ethnically diverse group of nurse faculty who have a wide range of research projects.  Among other topics, their research projects focus on: ways to reduce suffering of children with cancer; body temperature and peripheral blood flow in preterm infants; the spread of sexually transmitted infections in young adults; educational interventions to reduce HIV risk for female prisoners; web-based interventions to enhance knowledge and decrease risky sexual behavior among culturally diverse young adults; recruiting Native American men and women to nursing education and research; and more.

The goal of the RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars program is to develop the next generation of national leaders in academic nursing through career development awards for outstanding junior nursing faculty. The program aims to strengthen the academic productivity and overall excellence of nursing schools by providing mentorship, leadership training and salary and research support to young faculty.

To receive the award, scholars must be registered nurses who have completed a research doctorate in nursing or a related discipline and who have held a tenure-eligible faculty position at an accredited nursing school for at least two and no more than five years.

To learn more about the program, and to apply, visit www.rwjfnursefacultyscholars.org.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, we work with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years we've brought experience, commitment and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those we serve. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, we expect to make a difference in your lifetime.

SOURCE Robert Wood Johnson Foundation