The $10,000 scholarships, made possible through a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant, will help students help others 
The Indiana University Northwest School of Nursing is pleased to announce the scholarship awardees for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program. These five students will receive $10,000 each in scholarship funding to support their studies in the 18-month Nursing as Second Degree Program at IU Northwest.
Recipients include: Amanda Bircher, of Hobart; Veronica Chavez, of St. John; Tanesha Hale, of Dolton, Ill.; David Garza, of St. John; and Michael Jusko, of Griffith. Each was selected based on program eligibility and academic achievement.
In 2009, the IU Northwest School of Nursing was the only program in Indiana, and one of only 26 nationwide, to receive a $50,000 grant through the RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program. The funds were intended to support students from demographics underrepresented in the nursing profession who had bachelor’s degrees in other fields, and who wanted to return to school to obtain their nursing degrees.
The IU Northwest School of Nursing offers the 18-month Nursing as Second Degree Program for students who already have four-year degrees in other disciplines. The five students selected to receive the RWJF scholarships began their classes in May.
For Jusko, 28, who has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from IU Bloomington, nursing’s appeal as a profession was connected to his desire to help others.
“I just wanted a career in which I could help someone and go home from work every day feeling rewarded,” he said.
The 1999 Highland High graduate acknowledged that his late mother’s lengthy illness and frequent hospital stays gave him greater respect and appreciation for the important role nurses play in patient care. That experience fueled his desire to follow in the footsteps of his brother, who had worked as an RN before becoming a physician’s assistant.
“I had a long talk with him prior to going into this,” Jusko said. “He had nothing but good things to say about the profession as a whole. Once I found out about the Nursing as Second Degree Program, and that I could get it going relatively soon, I was excited. This was the route I decided I wanted to go.”
It is perhaps no surprise that men remain an underrepresented group in a profession that popular culture and perception tend to associate more frequently with women. Part of the purpose behind the RWJF grant program is to address such demographic inequities by supporting scholarships for students from those underrepresented groups, which include African-American and Latino students, as well as male students.
“Increasing the diversity of the nursing workforce, and creating nurse leaders among those underrepresented in nursing, are two important goals of the RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program and of the IU Northwest School of Nursing,” said Dean of Nursing Linda Rooda. “The university and the nursing school are strongly committed to the value of diversity and to preparing nurses who are representative of the populations they will serve."
“We are thrilled to be able to offer this to our students,” she added.
Rooda co-authored the School’s RWJF application with Professor of Nursing Linda Delunas, Ph.D. Delunas said the $10,000 scholarships should ease the recipients’ financial burden for school, allowing them to work less and focus more time and attention on their studies.
“Our 18-month program is very intense and does not allow much time for students to work,” said Delunas, who is also Associate Dean for the College of Health and Human Services. “So these scholarships are especially important.”
Delunas also explained that RWJF scholarship recipients would be assigned faculty mentors to monitor their progress and help assure that each student maximizes his or her learning opportunities in and out of the classroom.
The IU Northwest nursing school’s rigorous reputation was well known to its RWJF recipients.
“Going through orientation, I realized how tough it’s going to be,” said Hale, 32, of Dolton. ”I don’t think I will have much time to do anything else until I am done with this program. I was planning on working part-time, but I don’t know if that will work out. The scholarship makes it much easier.”
Like Jusko, Hale said she chose to study nursing because she wishes to make a difference in others’ lives. The University of Illinois at Chicago alumna earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology. But it was her own trip to the hospital that inspired Hale to pursue nursing.
“I recently had surgery, and my experience in the hospital with my nurses was tremendously excellent,” Hale said. “I realized how much of an integral part they play in the patients’ healing process. It was inspiring. I decided that I wanted to be a part of the healing process for others.”
Hale and her fellow RWJF scholars also will have the opportunity to take part in special mentoring and leadership-development activities as part of the program. 
David Garza, who is an East Chicago firefighter and EMT, said the program’s leadership element means as much to him as the scholarship support.
“It does take off the financial burden, but it (also) helps you mentally to know that you’re already considered a leader in the program,” said Garza, 31, who earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from IU Northwest in 2008. “That makes it easier to put in those extra 18 months of long nights. There’s a motivational aspect to it.”
As with Hale and Jusko, Garza said he enjoys helping others and wants to enjoy a career that makes a difference. He prefers EMT work to firefighting and so decided that nursing was the right choice.
“I’ve always had a passion to help people. It’s what drives me most in life,” said Garza, a 1996 Lake Central graduate. “I feel rewarded by helping out others.”
The RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program supports accelerated programs, which offer the most efficient route to licensure as a registered nurse for adults who have already completed a baccalaureate or graduate degree in a discipline other than nursing. Although enrollment in these programs has steadily increased over the past few years, many potential students are unable to enroll since having a college degree disqualifies them from receiving most federal financial aid programs for entry-level students.
The New Careers in Nursing scholarships address this problem, and will also alleviate the nation’s overall nursing shortage, by enabling hundreds of students to launch their nursing careers through accelerated education not otherwise possible without scholarships.
Additionally, the program targets the need to recruit students from groups underrepresented in nursing or disadvantaged backgrounds. According to the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice, diversifying the nursing profession is essential to meeting the healthcare needs of the nation and reducing health disparities that exist among many underserved populations.
Data from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration also show that nurses entering the profession at the baccalaureate level are four times more likely than other nurses to pursue a graduate degree in nursing, which is the required credential to teach. Consequently, bringing more nurses into the profession at the baccalaureate and master’s degree levels will help to address the nation’s nurse faculty shortage.
For more information on the IU Northwest Nursing as Second Degree Program, or about the RWJF scholarships, contact the IU Northwest School of Nursing at (219) 980-6600, or visit the Web at http://www.iun.edu/~nurse/
AACN serves as the National Program Office for this RWJF initiative and oversees the grant application submission and review processes. For more information about this program, see http://www.newcareersinnursing.org
Photo: Courtesy of the IU Northwest Office of Marketing and Communications Pictured (from left): Amanda Bircher, of Hobart; Tanesha Hale, of Dolton, Ill.; David Garza, of St. John; Michael Jusko, of Griffith; and Veronica Chavez, of St. John.