The HRSA nursing scholarship is available now. I just submitted my application although I'm probably a long shot.
How to Apply for a Scholarship
If you're interested in pursuing a career in healthcare, you may be eligible for a scholarship through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The HRSA Scholarship Program is designed to support students in various healthcare disciplines who are committed to serving underserved communities and helping to address the shortage of healthcare professionals in those areas.
HRSA offer scholarships to help pay for health professions' education.
All Scholarship awardees will provide a one-year service commitment for each year of scholarship support received.
The application cycle typically opens in late Winter or early Spring and closes in late Spring or early Summer, so be sure to check the website regularly for updates.
Scholarship requirements:
To be eligible for the HRSA Scholarship, you must be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an accredited program that leads to a degree in one of the following disciplines:
Nursing (including RN, ADN, BSN, and graduate-level nursing programs)
Nurse Practitioner
Certified Nurse-Midwife
You must also be a U.S. citizen, a national, or permanent resident.
Have no federal judgment liens and service commitment.
If you meet the eligibility criteria, you can apply for scholarship through the HRSA's online application system.
Scholarship award covers:
Tuition and Eligible Fees
A monthly stipend for living expenses
An annual other reasonable costs payment
If you have any questions about the program or the application process, the HRSA offers resources and support to help guide you through the process. Don't miss out on the opportunity to receive financial assistance while pursuing your dream of a career in healthcare and serving those in need.
I think you will be suprised at the LITTLE amount of time you actually will have. You might consider that if you don't have a support system (ie, family or friends) in Kentucky, your daughter could stay with you Dad until you get all settled into a routine. I have completed my first year of NSG school (2 more to go), have a husband and 2 children and would NEVER have been able to do it without the help of my in-laws. I pretty much thought that it was the worst year (in terms of time management) ever.
My instructors have little empathy for sick children or anyone who had to miss class (even from a family death). With that being said, I had to remind myself constantly that if they were overly empathetic to everyone's situation then they would have students missing school constantly...If you are going to keep your daughter with you, I would start by asking for referrals for daycare providers from the local Department of Human Services. Bottom line is that your family comes first..if you have to miss school for a sick child then that is what you have to do.
Oh, you might consider talking to your academic advisor on the policy for missing class due to sick children, etc.
My school is very difficult, as are most nursing schools. If you are a hard worker, and do what you need to do while in class, if u have good grades, are not habitually late, then they give a lot of breathing room in case something happens and u have to miss class. I have completed 3 semesters and have 2 left and this last semester I had a lot of family issues... I missed 4 whole class days, BUT I studied hard and did well on exam day. I hope that she has a school more like mine then yours. I would have probably been failed if I went you your school last semester..... Guess im more greatful now that I have read ur post.
anyone feel brave and like sharing the essays they submitted? i love to read fellow students' writing.
here are mine! yes there are typos ooopps! no harsh comments i usually wouldn't share this with a soul but thought it could give upcoming applicants some ideas~~maybe :)
1.how will you contribute to the mission of the nursing scholarship program in providing care to underserved communities?
ever since i was a child, my mission in life has been to help people no matter the person's ethnicity, race, or socioeconomic status. i spent the first ten years of my life in a very poor household where i took on the role of both an older sister and a mother to my three younger siblings and a mentally ill mother. the role of mending wounds and drying up tears fostered my growing need to help all children. throughout my school years, it was my mission to see fair treatment of all children even if it was at my own expense. with this said i was no savior but i tried very fervently to advocate for disadvantaged children. i also discovered a very serious need for adequate mental health care in my community. i began my adulthood on a mission to create change. along this path, i hit a few ruts and i am now a single mother of two. however, i am now working on my second bachelor's degree in a field i know i can make a difference. "health resources and services administration (hrsa) envisions optimal health for all, supported by a health care system that assures access to comprehensive, culturally competent, quality care" (about hrsa). upon completion of my bachelor's degree in nursing, i will be equipped with the set of professional nursing values that include human dignity, autonomy, altruism, integrity, and social justice. with these values, i will be able to provide the quality of care that both hrsa and i envision. as a professional nurse, i will be flexible, creative, and not afraid to try the unconventional to nurture a person to regain independence. i want to provide care to those who are disadvantaged and are unable to access quality care in our country. my passion is to help children with disparities such as race, religion, language, and/or social status. i also have a special place for the mentally ill and feel that this community of people is truly underserved. at the end of the day, i want to know that i have made a difference no matter how small or how large. to make a difference it only takes a few moments for example when i smile and hold an immigrant child and teach his family the importance of hand washing and vaccines or when i give a lecture to a group of high-risk teenagers on the importance of safe sex and hiv serostatus. whether i am a recipient of this scholarship or not, i will dedicate my nursing career to aiding those who are underserved and will continue to educate others around me about the subjection of injustice to a large part of our society. as the philosopher francis bacon once said, "knowledge is power."
2.what experiences have you had or activities have you participated in that have prepared you to work with underserved populations?
as i stated previously i was raised in a very poor home and community. i have personal experience living in conditions that are unfit for children. as an adult, i have opened my home to friends and family who have become homeless or seeking refuge from inhospitable living environments. i have spent countless days and nights caring and seeking proper care for both my biological mother and younger brother who are both mentally ill. while obtaining my first bs in microbiology i worked as a research assistant in a virology lab with the cytomegalovirus. i came in fourth place at university of tennessee at knoxville in the mcclung public speaking competition discussing the effects of necrotizing fasciitis from streptococcus pyogenes. i also gave a speech to utk about the importance of all sexually active young adults having their hiv serostatus obtained. i also participated in a group that collaborated, constructed, and taught a group of mentally ill patients in a group home about diabetes mellitus. i have volunteered over five hundred hours at the niota head start center, which schools disadvantaged children. i participated in a group teaching a kindergarten class about germs and the importance of hand washing. i opened my home to my fifteen-year-old pregnant sister and helped her through her pregnancy, birth, education, and marriage. i have spoken at the local high school along with the sheriff's department and emergency services against drinking and driving due to my personal experience of losing my fiancé to drinking and driving. my next-door neighbors are from el salvador and the husband is a migrant farm worker. i have helped this family from babysitting to filling out papers to obtain a work visa. i feel most importantly i have seen people who have been in a stage of hopelessness at a very young age and without hope, these people can become completely debilitated. i have also found my mission in nursing is not only to learn the technical knowledge but to also learn how to enable hope. i feel that through these experiences and my first two semesters of nursing clinicals that i am better prepared to work with underserved populations.
3. please discuss your commitment to pursue a career in primary health care.
my ultimate goal is to obtain my fnp and provide primary health care to disadvantaged women and children. in the meantime, i find it extremely important to advocate for primary health care in the nursing profession, which begins with striving for continuity of care. i will advocate for primary care and therapeutic relationships and not allow a hospital to force me to abandon my ideals and professional values. the only way to do such as thing is to provide research of evidence based practice to management and advocate for change. it is also important that i advocate for patient-centered care. not only is patient-centered care beneficial to the patient it is also beneficial to the profession of nursing. there has been a multitude of research that has concluded that nurses would most likely stay in the profession if they were happy and thought they provided care that was of an acceptable quality. a nurse is most satisfied when they are able to make a difference in a patient's life, and the ways he or she can make a difference involves respecting the patient's human dignity, advocating for the patient, and helping the patient find meaning in the illness. these core professional nursing values can promote within a nurse the sense of autonomy, satisfaction, group cohesion, and enhanced leadership skills, which can lead to increased retention. to me being a nurse is not a job but a holistic way to better another person's life and aid myself in better understanding the value of life. through my life, i have often thought that i had lost all hope in humanity but there were those few individuals who took that extra moment of their day and instilled a flicker of hope inside of me. i can only strive to be like those people and show those who are suffering that hope can prevail. what better way to enable hope in others than to be a primary health care nurse to the underserved women and children of our country.
Here I my essays, I wrote them about 10 minutes before heading to thepost office. I really didnt spend that much time on them and I dont think they are all that great. But Im brave enough to share...
1. How will you contribute to the mission of the Nursing Scholarship Program in providing care to underserved communities?
If I am fortunate enough to receive the HRSA nursing scholarship, I would fulfill commitment required of me. Living in an underprivileged section of Brooklyn, I’m very aware of the needs of healthcare of so many, including myself. Being able to work in places where there is a nursing shortage and knowing that I’m helping so many is a reward in itself. Working in my community which is underserved would be a reward because I would be helping my neighbors and their neighbors.
Upon completion of my BSN and then hopefully furthering my education, I have the ambition of opening a clinic for eating disorders in my neighborhood. Many people in my community suffer from eating disorders and there aren’t any treatment centers in my area that offer low-cost services. Treatment centers for these types of disorders are very expensive and definitely unaffordable to the underserved in my community. I just want to promote healthy living for people that don’t have the funds and the education on what is good for their well being. If I was to receive this scholarship, I would do my best to represent the HRSA organization.
2. What experiences have you had or activities have you participated in that have prepared you to work with underserved populations?
In the fall of 2009, I volunteered at a school nurses office in the East New York section of Brooklyn for 4 months. The primary population at the school is black and Hispanic. Working in this school has prepared me to work with the underserved because this section of Brooklyn is low-mid income. Many of these children are from single parent homes and have government funded health care. More than half of the children have asthma and many have some sort of an attention deficit disorder.
I also volunteer at the Shirley Chisholm Day Care Center as a member of the board of directors. I’ve been an active member since April of 2009. These centers offer free daycare services to children in various sections of Brooklyn, all in which are underserved areas. They provide exceptional education to children ranging in ages 2-5. Knowing that I am involved in a center that prepares children for their future is rewarding.
Volunteering in these different areas of Brooklyn is preparing me for the population I will be working with once I complete my nursing degree. As our population grows, so will the need of healthcare and as much as things are expanding, there will always be people that won’t be able to receive the life saving care that they need and deserve.
3. Please discuss you commitment to pursue a career in primary health care.
Ever since I was a young girl, I’ve always envisioned myself having a career in health care. Becoming a nurse would be a dream come true. From the visits to my doctor’s office and watching medical programs on television, I have been fascinated and amaze by the field of medicine, particularly nursing. I look at a career in nursing as a fulfilling and passionate way to help people who require medical assistance, especially those who are underserved. I cannot imagine a better way in which to spend my life by helping and promoting the health care of others.
Being a nurse is something that I always wanted to do. Just in my first semester of clinical, I was able to experience such great and rewarding opportunities that I probably wouldn’t have been able to in another career. Nursing is something that I have committed to ever since I decided to become a nurse. There have been many obstacles that have tried to stop my pursuit of this career. But with determination and dedication, I’ve managed to overcome them and I’m working hard in school to fulfill my dream.
Wow...After reading your essays! I am humbled...Mines doesn't compare so I am not even going to go there and post them. My cumulative GPA that my school submitted was 3.98, but after the spring semester it was 3.86. I received all the emails, and sent in all the required info. My school also sent in the DCW form and my analyst has been in contact w/ my school about my enrollment status. My credit was also pulled on 8/4. I am starting at private BSN program and I am in my junior year. Tuition of course is through the roof! 36K a year alone for tuition. If you add required fees and health insurance close to 40K a year! So I really hope that is not a factor. Good luck everyone regardless if we get this scholarship or not we are all aiming for the same goal and that is to be excellent NURSES! =]
Those essays you guys wrote are amazing! Best of luck to you all. krazievi3t6url and I are in similar programs (so same tuition) I have a 3.67 GPA on the form and a 3.62 after last semester. I received all the emails but NO verification email or calls were made to my school which worries me?!? I was visiting my sister all last week so I couldn't write any post but I read all what you guys wrote. Everyone hang in there, it's not over until it is over.
I have CL. Revieved all emails. School revieved and returned the info they needed to. Credit was checked 8/3 which is the same day she called me because she thought I needed to sign a 2 year contract.
So you would you say it is safe to assume that they are going to pay out the tuition to the school at the same time we would get our first check from them if we got the scholarship?
I was awarded a two year contract (one of only 17) - so mine automatically renewed - They sent emails to current grant people asking if they wanted to renew the grant for another year -- which I think is pretty normal - so if you only get a one year grant, and you have more than one year left - you will probably be able to extend.
Last year when you guys did the application did they not notify you upfront that you were "finalist" or did you just one day get an email/mailed letter? I ask because our email says we were "finalist" but then the website says that they wouldn't ask for our banking info, etc. unless we were selected...this is soo confusing...
Everyone seems to be all shy about sharing and saying no harsh comments...but really, you have all done a fantastic job! I enjoy reading the essays...they are very inspiring! Makes me even more excited to start my own nursing school journey on Monday!
I'm really digging reading these essays, and learning a bit about my fellow applicants/student nurses! Helping pass the time. It's almost Monday, isn't it?!!?!?!?!
Here's another of my essays.
What experiences have you had or activities have you participated in that have prepared you to work with
underserved populations?
I will make a fantastic nurse, well equipped to work with underserved populations. My BA in Anthropology has taught me much about other cultures. A lot of emphasis was placed upon cultural recognition and respect. My experiences as a participant observer have developed my ability to consider multiple viewpoints with cultural sensitivity. During my senior year of my BA I wrote a semester long research paper about maternal attitudes towards infants and death in communities with high infant mortality. Most people would suggest that maternal warmth and bonding is an innate desire, but these women who lost their children more often than not showed otherwise. The ability to consider cultural variables will be a great benefit to me while serving underserved populations. I also studied college level Spanish literature and speak fluent Spanish, basic French, and basic Russian. My propensity for foreign languages will assist me in caring for those patients who speak other languages.
I am passionate about helping those not as fortunate as myself. Currently I volunteer at TCP and Parent Resource Center. The center provides drop in short term care to many children. Because the center has a very active parent outreach and family support program, many of the children are from families of lower socio-economic status. I enjoy modeling healthy and supportive interaction with their children and my own, as well as giving these parents a well needed break. In the past I have also volunteered as an assistant coach for a Special Olympics riding team. This experience gave me practice in dealing with those with physical or emotional challenges.
Finally, my personal struggles with single motherhood and low income have also allowed me to experience the world from the standpoint of a person from an underserved population. I benefit from many services while raising my family, from food stamps, to Medicaid, to public housing. I truly appreciate the benefit these programs offer me, but have also felt the sting of the stigma which comes attached to them. It is infuriating to hear people discussing people just like me as "welfare cases," and to hear of the stereotypes and vitriol that come along with it. Because of the challenges I face daily while receiving public assistance, I feel I will be more sensitive and compassionate as well as familiar with challenges my patients face.
I don't see why they wouldn't....the initial notifications came in email form and this wouldn't be too much different. Plus it saves money for the taxpayers as well as trees
I was visiting my sister all last week so I couldn't write any post but I read all what you guys wrote. Everyone hang in there, it's not over until it is over.
Sgoud
84 Posts
My school is very difficult, as are most nursing schools. If you are a hard worker, and do what you need to do while in class, if u have good grades, are not habitually late, then they give a lot of breathing room in case something happens and u have to miss class. I have completed 3 semesters and have 2 left and this last semester I had a lot of family issues... I missed 4 whole class days, BUT I studied hard and did well on exam day. I hope that she has a school more like mine then yours. I would have probably been failed if I went you your school last semester..... Guess im more greatful now that I have read ur post.