PhD Student Awarded Prestigious Scholarship

The Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence will reach an important milestone this fall, as the third cohort of nursing doctoral candidates in its Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholar Program brings the program to a national scale. 

Among the scholarship recipients for the fall of 2012 is UI College of Nursing PhD student Emily Higdon.

“This award couldn't have come at a better time. It truly is an honor and a blessing to be a Jonas Scholar. I couldn't be happier,” said Higdon, who was unaware she had even been nominated.

Launched in 2008 with six scholars in three states, the program now includes more than 200 students in nearly 85 schools across the United States. It is the largest program addressing the nation’s dire shortage of nursing faculty—nursing schools turned away more than 67,000 qualified applicants in 2010 alone due to 1,000-plus faculty shortages^[1]—by preparing nurses with doctoral degrees to step into this critical role.

The new cohort includes 142 PhD and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) scholars representing all 50 states. The scholars will be funded through 2014 with $2 million from the Jonas Center, which the schools leveraged to raise an additional $1.5 million. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing will administer the program, bringing their vast experience and expertise in nursing leadership programs.

“Our mission is to improve health care through nursing, and by reaching all 50 states, we can improve health care for all Americans,” said Darlene Curley, executive director. “Enthusiastic support from our donor and education partners has made all the difference as we built this innovative way to support future nurse leaders to improve patient care and reduce health care costs.”

Higdon, who received her BSN from UI in 2008, is focusing her graduate research on maternal (obstetric and postpartum) care.

“I’m interested in researching interventions (or lack thereof) in labor and delivery – with an ultimate goal of decreasing the cesarean section rate. My current research interest topics more specifically involve electronic fetal monitoring, induction and augmentation with oxytocin, and the utilization of midwives and their associations with cesarean.”

She is slated to defend her dissertation in May 2014.

A full list of partner colleges and universities is available on the Jonas Center’s website.

“We wanted the Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholar Program to dramatically change the landscape of nursing education and, ultimately, the future of nursing and health care,” said Donald B. Jonas, co-founder. “We feel we’ve made great strides towards the first goal and look forward to the impact these remarkable men and women will have on the health care of future generations.”

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Contact:          Olivia Goodman: gabbegroup, 212-220-4444; olivia.goodman@gabbe.com
                         Jamie Nicpon: UI College of Nursing, 319-335-9917; james-nicpon@uiowa.edu