School to Offer Scholarships in Advanced Geriatrics

NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Mary Pattock, School of Nursing, 612-624-0939, patto017@umn.edu

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA SCHOOL OF NURSING TO OFFER SEVEN FULL SCHOLARSHIPS IN ADVANCED GERIATRICS, NAMES THIS YEAR'S AWARDEES
Advanced nursing skills meet growing, more complex needs of elderly

Minneapolis, MN (January 20, 2005) - Responding to the nursing shortage, the University of Minnesota School of Nursing will award up to seven new full scholarships in the next three years in the growing field of gerontological nursing.

"Not only is the demand for health care of the elderly growing, it is also becoming more complex," says Associate Professor Christine Mueller, PhD, RN, C, CNAA, who heads the program. "The fact that people are living longer means that many of us are living with health conditions we would have died from 25 years ago, requiring specialized, advanced nursing skills. These full scholarships will help us prepare more nurses to meet those challenges."

The scholarships are for students who enter the gerontological nurse practitioner (GNP) or gerontological clinical nurse specialist (GCNS) areas of study. Mueller says the school is particularly interested in recruiting from groups that are underrepresented in nursing, including men and students from diverse cultures.

The school is one of 18 nationwide funded by The John A. Harford Foundation of New York to provide the scholarships through the foundation's Creating Careers in Geriatric Advanced Practice program. The program, which is directed nationally by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, pays for half of the scholarship costs.

The remainder of the funding is currently provided by six Minnesota partners that employ GNPs and GCNSs: Veterans Administration Center, Minneapolis; HealthPartners Partnering Care for Senior Services, Bloomington; Fairview Geriatric Services, Edina; Evercare, Golden Valley; Park Nicollet Health Services, St. Louis Park; North Memorial Hospital, Robbinsdale.

School Names This Year's Awardees

The School also announced named the program's awardees for 2004-2005. They and the agencies providing matching scholarship funds are: Peggy Dunton, Faribault, MN, Fairview Geriatric Services; Sherry Baumann, Plymouth, MN, Fairview Geriatric Services; Paula Opatrny, Eagan, MN, Partnering Care Senior Services; Elizabeth Lamora, Eagan, MN, Veterans Administration Medical Center.

The University of Minnesota School of Nursing prepares a major portion of the nation's advanced practice nurses specializing in gerontology, having graduated more than 100 GNP students since the area of study was established at the school in 1991. Fifteen GCNS students graduated from the U of M during that same period.

To Become a Partner or Apply for Scholarship

Dr. Mueller encourages prospective GNP/GNCS students, and organizations interested in becoming matching partners to contact her at 612-626-4922 or at cmueller@umn.edu. Information is also available on the Web at www.nursing.umn.edu.

The University of Minnesota School of Nursing, ranked among the nation's top nursing schools, is a leader in improving health care through research, education and service. Its nationally and world-renowned scientists discover practical health care treatments and solutions people can use today to improve their daily lives. The oldest continuing university-based school of nursing in the nation, it now has a combined undergraduate and graduate enrollment of approximately 850 students. The school produces 55 percent of the faculty in Minnesota's public and private nursing schools, advanced practice nurses and nurses who can assume leadership positions. The School of Nursing is one of seven schools and colleges in the Academic Health Center, one of the most comprehensive facilities for health professionals in the nation, fostering interdisciplinary study, research and education.

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For print-quality photos of scholarship winners, contact Aneisha Tucker at 612-626-1817 or tucke127@umn.edu.

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