NLN Research Grants, Foundation Scholarships, and Jonas Scholars
Washington, DC, September 18, 2015 – Select doctoral candidates in nursing education and scholars pursuing innovative research in nursing education will get a financial boost in the coming year from grants and scholarships to be awarded at the 2015 NLN Education Summit at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, September 30-October 2, 2015.
Noted NLN president Marsha Adams, PhD, RN, CNE, FAAN, ANEF: “The NLN has no more important task than nurturing leaders and scholars in nursing education. On behalf of the NLN, I extend personal and professional congratulations to all our scholarship and grant recipients.”
2015 NLN Research Grant Recipients
The NLN’s grants program, housed in the NLN | Chamberlain Center for the Advancement of the Science of Nursing Education, supports rigorous, high-quality pedagogical research studies. “The NLN is deeply committed to supporting beginning researchers as well as veteran nursing education scholars, said NLN CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN. All studies relate to one or more of the NLN Priorities for Research in Nursing Education, and multi-site projects are encouraged. Funding, which has steadily increased from an initial $12,000 to more than $80,000 annually, is provided by the NLN and through endowments and donations to the NLN Foundation for Nursing Education.
The 2015 research grantees, with dissertation projects, are:
 | Dorothy Otto Research Award Measuring the Impact of Gerontology-focused International Service Learning on Undergraduate Nursing Students and Host Country Stakeholders Patricia Berry PhD, RN, ACHPN, FPCN, FAAN, Professor and Director, Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence, Oregon Health and Science University School of Nursing, Portland |
| | Nancy Langston Research Award Developing Capacity for Patient-centered care in Nursing Students: Implementing and Evaluating an Evidence-Based Intervention to Decrease Stress and Support Emotional Well-being Heather Beanlands, PhD, Associate Director, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON |
| | Ruth Donnelly Corcoran Research Award Virtual Reality Strategies in Nursing Education: Effectiveness in Teaching Nursing Students Decontamination Procedures Sherrill Smith, PhD, BSN; Assistant Dean, Undergraduate Programs, Wright State University, Dayton, OH |
| | Joyce Griffin-Sobel Research Award Quantifying the Influence of Expert Modeling on Novice Nurses” Competence and Self-Efficacy – Part II Ashley Franklin, PhD, RN, CCRN, CNE, CHSE Assistant Professor, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth |
| | Mary Anne Rizzolo/NLN Dissertation/DNP Award The Effect of Deliberate Practice Combined With High-Fidelity Simulation Scenarios on Psychomotor Skill Competency and Retention in Prelicensure Nursing Education: A Mixed Methods Pilot Study Cynthia E. Johnson, MS, RN, CAPA Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University |
| | NLN/Chamberlain Research Award Promoting Innovative Academic Leadership through Critical Reflective Teaching Practice Marilyn E. Asselin, PhD, RN-BC, Associate Professor, and Deborah Armstrong PhD, RN, Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth |
| | NLN/MNRS Dissertation Award The Effects of Attention on Academic Performance Sheryl Buckner, MS, RN, Assistant Professor; Oklahoma University College of Nursing, Oklahoma City |
2015 NLN Foundation for Nursing Education Scholarship Winners
The NLN Foundation Scholarship Awards Program seeks to support seasoned and ethnically diverse nurses with an interest in committing to careers in academic nursing education. Hence, these scholarships are awarded to nurses pursuing advanced degrees, either master’s or doctorates, in accredited programs, and have completed at least half of their academic studies toward their degrees.
In this year’s award cycle, nearly $30,000 has been distributed among five doctoral candidates in amounts ranging from $3,000 to $8,000. All five anticipate completing PhD or DNP dissertations in 2016. They are studying topics as varied as work-related fatigue, drowsiness and napping during 12-hour nursing shifts; the importance of compassion and empathy in nursing; and breast-feeding patterns of African American new mothers. One is the mother of triplets, and another speaks fluent Arabic and Armenian, as well as English. Each has impressive teaching, clinical, and research credentials:
- Stephanie Devane-Johnson, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
- Michelle Finch, Nova Southeastern University
- Tomekia Luckett-Earl, University of Southern Mississippi
- Knar Sagherian, University of Maryland
- Shannon Woods, University of Central Arkansas
2015-16 Jonas Scholars – Sixth Cohort
The NLN Jonas Scholars Program, established in 2010 through generous funding from the Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence, addresses a core formal goal of the NLN: advancement of the science of nursing education. The initiative includes a comprehensive mentoring component that engages scholars in peer-to-peer interactions, and nurtures relationships between scholars and faculty mentors.
NLN Jonas Scholars are selected by faculty in selected schools of nursing with a focus on nursing education research and mentored by scholars in the NLN | Chamberlain Center for the Advancement of the Science of Nursing Education. Funds include financial support for the scholars’ research through the final year of doctoral study, as well as travel expenses to meetings with mentors at the NLN Education Summit. NLN Jonas Scholars in previous cohorts have since graduated and joined the ranks of doctorally prepared nurse faculty, fulfilling the grant’s stated purpose to advance the science of nursing education through evidence-based research. Members of the newest cohort of NLN Jonas Scholars are:
- Cynthia Bradley, MSN, RN, CNE, CHSE, Indiana University
- Joyce Brill, MSN, CPNP-AC, Widener University
- Jawanza Bundy, MSN, WHNP-BC, CNM, RN, Hampton University
- Andrea Fedko, MSN, RN, Indiana University
- Jesse Honsky, MPH, MSN, RN, APHN-BC, Case Western Reserve University
- Jacquelyn McMillian-Bohler, MSN, CRNM, RN, Villanova University
- Antionella Upshaw, MSN, RN, Southern University A&M College
NLN Summit 2015 Information and Registration
Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education. The NLN offers faculty development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its more than 40,000 individual and more than 1,200 institutional members, comprising nursing education programs across the spectrum of higher education and health care organizations.