A Troy University School of Nursing program aimed at increasing the number of qualified nursing faculty in Alabama has for the third straight year received funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Nurse Faculty Loan Program provides funding to accredited schools of nursing to offer loans to students enrolled in advanced education nursing degree programs who are committed to become nurse faculty. In exchange for full-time, post-graduation employment as nurse faculty, the program authorizes the cancelation of up to 85 percent of any such loan.

The program will receive $116,836 in federal funding, while the University will provide $12,982 in matching funds.

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, U.S. nursing schools turned away more than 80,000 qualified applications from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in 2019 due to an insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites, classroom space, clinical preceptors and budget constraints. Most nursing schools responding to the survey pointed to faculty shortages as a top reason for not accepting all qualified applicants into their programs.

Since its inception in 2009, TROY’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program has experienced success in placing graduates in nursing faculty positions throughout the Southeast. In order to support the preparation and training of doctoral nursing students to serve as faculty, TROY’s School of Nursing also developed courses focused on development of the nursing education role, including the fall 2020 implementation of a nursing education post-master’s certificate program.

“TROY’s School of Nursing has a history of pIacing DNP graduates in full-time faculty positions and this grant will provide further incentive for DNP graduates to pursue teaching roles,” said Dr. Wade Forehand, Director of the School of Nursing. “I am grateful to Dr. Carrie Lee Gardner, the principal investigator for this grant, who was instrumental in putting the grant together, and we look forward to the leadership that Dr. Lenetra Jefferson will bring the program.”

Those interested in applying should contact Dr. Gardner at csgardner@troy.edu or Dr. Jefferson at ljefferson150835@troy.edu. Additional information is also available on the School of Nursing’s website.