$3.8M HRSA Grant Awarded to SIUE School of Nursing
The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Nursing (SON) has secured a $3.8 million grant through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as part of the Nurse Education, Practice, Quality, Retention-Clinical Faculty and Preceptor Academies (NEPQR-CFPA) grant.
Over four years, the project will focus on increasing the nursing workforce by producing skilled, qualified clinical nursing faculty and preceptors to address health equity, increase access to care, and the capacity of the nursing workforce, as well as prepare nurses to serve as clinical nursing faculty and preceptors to newly hired or transitioning licensed nurses in a variety of care settings in rural and/or underserved areas.
“SIUE’s School of Nursing has always been a leader in the region in educating and preparing nurses and advanced practice register nurses (APRNs) to be the best at providing care to patients, including patients who are traditionally underserved,” said Bernadette Sobczak, DNP, APN, CPNP-PC, PMHS . “It makes sense that we would lead this initiative to prepare nurses in the workforce who are clinical coaches, preceptors and clinical faculty.”
The SIUE grant writing team, along with Sobczak, is composed of Leah Baecht, DNP-C CRNA, APRN, program liaison and director of the nurse anesthesia program; Amelia Perez, PhD, RN, associate professor; and Valerie Griffin, DNP, PPCNP-BC, FNP-BC, RN, assistant clinical professor. Experienced clinicians and educators with a wide variety of nursing expertise comprise the grant team.
“Preceptors are a vital link in our students’ education,” said Judy Liesveld, PhD, PPCNP-BC, CNE, FAAN, dean of the SON. “I could not be more pleased that this stellar grant team is supporting and developing preceptors throughout the region to work with our students as they become outstanding nurses and health care providers.”
Currently, the SON is working to develop several online, interactive and self-paced modules to train nurses and advanced practice nurses (APRNs) who precept novice nurses in hospitals and clinics. The team will also seek to reach new nursing clinical faculty with the training modules. In the coming years, the SON will hold an annual conference to develop preceptor and clinical faculty mentorship skills.
Overall, the SIUE team seeks to train and educate 200 nurses or APRNs each year of the grant throughout the Midwest region.
Photo: Bernadette Sobczak, DNP, APN, CPNP-PC, PMHS , assistant professor; Leah Baecht, DNP-C CRNA, APRN, program liaison and director of the nurse anesthesia program; Amelia Perez, PhD, RN, associate professor; and Valerie Griffin, DNP, PPCNP-BC, FNP-BC, RN, assistant clinical professor.
