Indiana Wesleyan University will receive $400,000 over the next two years to help pay tuition and fees for 20 graduate nursing students who reside in areas with a shortage of health professionals.
The funds come from the Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship (AENT) program of the US Health Resources and Services Administration. Students who receive AENT funding will be enrolled in the Primary Care Track Nurse Practitioner (PYC) in the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program and agree to work in rural or medically underserved communities or setting upon graduation.
Grant County, location of IWU's residential campus, and certain areas of Marion County, location of IWU's Greenwood Education Center, are officially designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) and provide the PYC program. Nearby Blackford and Howard counties are also HPSAs.
"Advanced practice nurses are in short supply in areas all over the United States right now," said Dr. Barbara Ihrke, School of Nursing Dean. "The AENT program enables IWU to be a servant in some of our most underserved home communities and provide assistance for a few students whose calling will take them where they're needed most. Nurse practitioners achieve optimal patient/client health outcomes with clinical decision-making, client education and preventative healthcare practices."
IWU will receive $200,000 per year for the next two years through the AENT program.
Information on PYC Admissions requirements and AENT funding is available at indwes.edu and by calling 866-498-4968.