Georgia Southern University School of Nursing Receives $104,000 Grant from the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation

Georgia Southern University School of Nursing students will receive scholarships during the coming academic year thanks to a $104,000 grant from the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation.

Jean Bartels, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Georgia Southern’s nationally-ranked School of Nursing, says the grant will be used to fund scholarships for more than 30 outstanding students during the 2009-2010 academic year. Bartels says the scholarships will greatly reduce, or even eliminate, the hours students will have to work outside of school. “For most students, it means significant financial support in purchasing textbooks and medical equipment while easing their workload as they pursue intense clinical experiences,” said Bartels.

The scholarships will also ensure that the University will be able to recruit outstanding students, regardless of their financial situation. “This grant means more deserving students can be admitted to the School of Nursing because they will have the financial resources that will allow them to stay in school and meet an ever increasing need for well educated nurses,” said Bartels.

Educating nurses is becoming even more critical according to Bartels. The state of Georgia is expected to have a shortfall of 20,000 nurses in the next three years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics estimates that nearly 250,000 new nursing jobs will be available in the U.S. every year through 2016, and the amount of nurses around the country is expected to fall far short of the demand. Georgia Southern University’s School of Nursing graduate program is consistently listed as one of the top in the nation. The program is becoming known for not only educating future nurses, but helping current nurses obtain advanced degrees through its popular online degree programs.

The Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation places special emphasis on women studying in the fields of nursing and healthcare. The foundation’s mission is to benefit the education of women in financial need in nine southeastern states.

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