Nurse Corps Scholarship "Required To Work 2 Years In Understaffed Facilities"

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jun 23, 2015

This scholarship does indeed require you to work in a critically understaffed location (not of your choosing) for two years to satisfy the requirements.

labordude, BSN, RN · Jun 23, 2015

I received this scholarship when I was in nursing school. I absolutely had a choice over where I worked and it was required to be a hospital with an HSPA score of 14 or higher. Just because it's designated as an area with a critical shortage of nurses DOES NOT mean that it is understaffed. I worked at a huge children's hospital and was very well staffed, but because it served an extremely poor population, it qualified as a critical need area.

mirandaaa · Jun 23, 2015

I received this scholarship when I was in nursing school. I absolutely had a choice over where I worked and it was required to be a hospital with an HSPA score of 14 or higher. Just because it's designated as an area with a critical shortage of nurses DOES NOT mean that it is understaffed. I worked at a huge children's hospital and was very well staffed, but because it served an extremely poor population, it qualified as a critical need area.

Oh thank you so much for responding and this does make me feel better.

Were you required to relocate or what were the specifications?

labordude, BSN, RN · Jun 23, 2015

I was only required to be working in a facility that met the standards for high/critical shortage, namely that it was located in an area with a primary care HSPA of 14 or higher. You can find those areas on a map and search by address if there is somewhere you are interested in working. Many major academic medical centers in downtown areas are considered critical shortage or disproportionate share because they served a population that includes the very poor. I did end up relocating, but that was the plan all along.

mirandaaa · Jun 23, 2015

Do you feel that they truly came through with what they advertised? Total coverage of tuition/expenses and a monthly stipend?

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Jun 23, 2015

It's legitimate but highly competitive.

I believe it's also based on the candidates financial need.

Those recipients most disappointed didn't do their research and were unhappy when assigned to a non local facility as there were no qualifies facilities in their neighborhood region.

mirandaaa · Jun 23, 2015

It's legitimate but highly competitive.
I believe it's also based on the candidates financial need.
Those recipients most disappointed didn't do their research and were unhappy when assigned to a non local facility as there were no qualifies facilities in their neighborhood region.

Well I definitely have financial need, so I'm covered there :rolleyes:

But I was concerned about the need to work in an critical need place. I'm going to do some more research as the PP suggested and see if there are any qualified locations near me. I'm in a SE Chicago suburb, but I'm a little hesitant to need to travel to the city for work (Chicago winters + long drives don't mix well).

HTCC · Jun 23, 2015

I was under the impression that you were required to work in a qualifying facility but that it was up to you to find one and get hired. Do they actually assign you to one? How much say do you get in your specialty, such as med-surg vs ER?

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Jun 23, 2015

Assigned is not the right word. They were given a list of accepted qualifying facilities but did not like the location. It all depends on the need. New grads can't be choosy for specialized areas nor shift especially if scholarship money is involved. That's a lot of money to pay back if your dream job isn't in one of the qualifying facilities.

You can google which facilities qualify. There are many in urban areas. Quite often pediatric hospitals or women& children (prenatal through young adult) meet the criteria because of population served.

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · Jun 23, 2015

Assigned is not the right word. They were given a list of accepted qualifying facilities but did not like the location. It all depends on the need. New grads can't be choosy for specialized areas nor shift especially if scholarship money is involved. That's a lot of money to pay back if your dream job isn't in one of the qualifying facilities.
You can google which facilities qualify. There are many in urban areas. Quite often pediatric hospitals or women& children (prenatal through young adult) meet the criteria because of population served.

Agree.

The HRSA has links to which sites that are acceptable facilities.

When I considered the scholarship, there were only specific sites that qualified as critical need areas; one are hospital I was interested in only sponsored NPs, the other is managed by a for-profit entity, so area medical day cares in my area qualified, and I didn't plan on staying there.

OP, research your area or any area of interest through before taking the scholarship.

mirandaaa · Jun 23, 2015

Thank you all for your advice.

I pulled up the HPSA page and sorted through the proper filters. There are some options to choose from near me, but I'm hesitant if I would want to be stuck at those locations for 2 years.

To be truthful, I'm enrolled in the ASN program at a CC, so tuition and expenses aren't overwhelmingly expensive. A full ride would be nice, but for what I'm doing it's a little unnecessary.