The four-year Health Resources and Services Administration grant provides scholarship funds for DNP Nurse Anesthesia students.
Veronica Y. Amos, PhD, MS ’07, MS ’00, BSN ’99, CRNA, PHCNS-BC, FAANA, assistant professor and director of the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Nurse Anesthesia specialty, has received a four-year grant for more than $195,000 from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration for Nurse Anesthetist Traineeships. For the first year of the grant, 2023-24, the award amount is nearly $58,000.
The competitive grant provides federal funds for nurse anesthetist students to gain clinical experience in rural, underserved areas. The funds, treated as scholarships, can be used to offset the costs of tuition, room and board, and other education-related expenses. The scholarships are awarded to second- and third-year DNP Nurse Anesthesia students who participate in clinicals in Western Maryland and on the Eastern Shore.
UMSON's DNP Nurse Anesthesia program, the first such civilian program in the state, then provides data to the federal government on how many students take jobs upon graduation in the same rural areas, and the data shows the long-term placement value of the clinical experiences; that is, many students who complete clinicals in the areas often stay there upon graduation and often serve as the sole anesthesia providers in those areas.