The HRSA Nursing Scholarship

3mckeens · Sep 1, 2010

I am finding that link really confusing. First, it lists sites that have shortages in "primary medical care," and I am unsure if that is actually referring to nurses specifically. Second, there are some facilities named, but also a lot of "population groups." If the whole town of Chicago Heights is medically underserved, does that mean a hospital located in Chicago Heights would be eligible for employment?
And this does seem to contradict the HRSA Q&A page about ALL hospitals qualifying. I wish they would be more clear about this. Don't know about you guys, but not knowing is kinda getting to me.

All Hospitals MAY qualify but they still need to be approved. (we all qualified for the scholarship, but we didn't ALL get one) Primary care is the same as RN, look up your state, county and primary care and you'll see the list that is approved for your area or if you have an address of a place you want to work, put that in and it will tell you if it's approved.

MRevis · Sep 1, 2010

All Hospitals MAY qualify but they still need to be approved. (we all qualified for the scholarship, but we didn't ALL get one) Primary care is the same as RN, look up your state, county and primary care and you'll see the list that is approved for your area or if you have an address of a place you want to work, put that in and it will tell you if it's approved.

I called HRSA before I applied for this scholarship and then again before I accepted the scholarship to clarify what was meant by an underserved facility. I was told exactly what Sgoud has stated-"as long as it is a type of facility in that list then it will be approved". So I asked "I can go work at any hospital in the state of TN and that will fulfill my obligation?" Both times I was told yes.

GabbsRN · Sep 1, 2010

That link has nothing to do with us. It is for health care providers, i.e. Doctors, Dentists and NPs.

"Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) are designated by HRSA as having shortages of primary medical care, dental or mental health providers"

Nurses are not considered primary health care providers (doctors, NPs), dental providers (dentists) or mental health providers (psychiatrists, psychologists, or mental health NPs). This is in reference to those with advanced degrees who play a practitioner role.

Sgoud · Sep 1, 2010

Actually, this is not true. You can't work at ANY hospital.....it has to be approved. I have attached a link so you can see if the facility you want to work in is approved/underserved or not. You can also get a list of facilities that are.
Good Luck :)
http://hpsafind.hrsa.gov/

That link is not for NSP recipients. If that was the case then I would have to drive 2 hours to work somewhere. As long as the "medical facility" is a non-profit then you can work there.

steph163811 · Sep 2, 2010

Hey everyone...I've gone back and read through the 08-09 and the 09-10 message boards regarding the scholarship. At this point I am just trying to determine a few things about the stipend.

I think this was asked before, but I'm sure there is still confusion. The email that said we will be getting the award said that we will get 4 months worth of stipend payment and the ORC payment. But in order to get that 4 months did we have to be in classes since January or do you only get stipend payment for a month if you were in class? The website says something about being in class for 15 days..so for example, I started my classes on Aug 23rd so I'm wondering would my stipend payment just have Sept and October on it or would I still get a stipend for July and August?

I know somewhere on this board someone posted that they received the scholarship last year and got full stipend payment even though they hadn't started classes until August, but I just don't feel like going back through and trying to find that post.

In reading the previous years boards, I believe people have said they only get stipend payments for the months they are in school for 15 days so I am just totally confused!

Also...I'm assuming that the payments will go through May, and that if you don't have classes required during the summer then you don't get stipend payments during the summer? So then they would just start up again in October when the new cycle begins? I wish Hrsa would do a better job of explaining all of this...it's hard to try to plan ahead and try to see what you can pay when no one really has a clue as to what the first payment amount will be other than having the ORC payment on it. I know I have read that some people didn't start school until September so I would want to know if I were them how much my first stipend would be and if it would still backpay or not.

Sorry this is so long...just trying to get any input. I think I will call the call center tomorrow, or try to call my analyst and see if I can get any answers. If anyone else has received any information regarding this subject please share!

gypsydancer · Sep 2, 2010

steph :

regarding the stipend, yes a poster named oklahoma said they were a recipient last year and despite not attending class in the summer, they received the stipend from July 1 on ...

The website does have a FAQ that mentions the 15 day thing, but I think the current theory is that they meant as long as you're in the program for 15 days total by the time they figure the stipend, not per month, then you'll get the backdated stipend.

As I understand things, the only problem may be if your school stated on the form a different start date for your program. I made sure mine put July 1 so that I would get the full stipend (if I had received the scholarship), I'm pretty sure oklahoma said their school did the same, but I cannot say for sure if that matters.

It actually makes sense for them to pay for the whole year, since your obligation is not in school years, but none of us can really know for sure until people from this year actually post what they get. It's all speculation.

So I agree that if you really want to know for sure, your only real course is to call your analyst since all we can do is speculate. Even if people from last year say what they got, who knows if their school does things differently or they just got lucky ;-}

gypsydancer · Sep 2, 2010

bobw and samb, if you're still reading this, OMG !!!

For a day or so there it felt like I was the only one left here and then I cam back and read your horror stories. As awful as it was to get one of the first rejection letters, I can't even imagine the pain of being told u got it and then having it snatched away, that is just AWFUL !

Please keep us updated

~hugs~

gypsydancer · Sep 2, 2010

pattylmt and dcoffill :

Thank u both sooo much!!! I truly feel bad for both of u and I'm flabbergasted as to why neither of u got it, but both your support and your situations make me feel better about my loss ;-}

Having said that, I wondered why I wasn't on my primary Prof's class roster, but just assumed it was because I changed sections very late in the summer. So I went into the registrar's office today to add a class and was told I was accepted for summer but not fall. (She even showed me the computer screen, as if that would explain the problem to me, but it was incomprehensible, how could I be only summer when I took classes all last year, and just as importantly had been in the business office the last week and seen my bill - which I never got in the mail, apparently this was all why)

So she walked over to admissions and had it fixed, apparently it had been put in the computer that I began the program and finished the program the same day.

So right when I had truly come to terms with the whole thing, now I have a whole new worry, did my school tell them I was finishing the program in August and therefore they were like, hey she doesn't need this ...

I halfjokingly mentioned this to her and she said she didn't think that had happened, and I have no real reason to believe it did, but ...

I'm pretty sure if that did happen, I don't want to know ;-}

khervey · Sep 2, 2010

Steph163811

Hi,

I am a 2009-2010 Scholarship Recipient. I will attempt to answer your questions to the best of my ability.

To the best of my knowledge, I believe that you will receive backstipend for whatever months you were enrolled in nursing school and actually taking classes for at least fifteen days. Example, I started nursing school on May 26, 2009, I received backstipend for July, August, September, and October. Even though I started in May, the time frame began for July. Example # 2, if you start classes on August 23, you will probably receive stipend for Septembr and October, becuse even though you started in August, you did not attend classes for fifteen days in August so your backstipend will start for September. I am pretty sure that because my program started so soon, I was one of the lucky ones who received the maximum amount of funds. I remember on dispersement day (11/13/2009) the forum was full of complaints. I just looked back and my payment was for $6810.78. This included July, August, September, October backstipend ($1269.00) and ORC payment of around $1800.00. I remember some people complaining because their payment was only the ORC payment. I also can remember one guy saying that his deposit was on $800, which I'm sure was a mistake because that's not even the whole ORC payment. I'm saying all this to say that no everyone does not get the full backstipend pay. If so, all of the recipients last year would have had the same direct deposit amount. It depends on how long you've been in school.

Also, the stipend does not end in the summer if you are not taking classes. I did not take classes this summer and I received my stipend every month.

Hope this helps!

lili718 · Sep 2, 2010

I've been wondering about the stipend payment as well. The award e-mail says the stipend will be back- dated from July, but does not include the portion about classes being in session for 15 days. When I filled out the application I was not taking any summer classes, but I ended up completing my preceptor hours in the summer and was in class for more than 15 days in both may, june, and july. I started my nursing program in 2008 so I'm not sure of how they determine it. I feel if we have to obligate full calendar years to them that full years of stipend should be awarded.. but life isn't always fair. I guess we will see when the deposits come or during the webinar

GabbsRN · Sep 2, 2010

Well, oklahomacole was a recipient last year and was NOT taking classes in July and got a back dated stipend from July-Oct.

lili718 · Sep 2, 2010

Well, oklahomacole was a recipient last year and was NOT taking classes in July and got a back dated stipend from July-Oct.

Yeah I saw that. I also saw other who said they only got 2 months. I'm hoping it actually goes back to July as that's what the award e-mail said:)

The HRSA Nursing Scholarship

How to Apply for a Scholarship

Scholarship requirements:

Scholarship award covers: