Scholarship program fast-tracks nurses’ training to ease workforce shortages

The Biden-Harris administration provides North Carolina nursing schools with much-needed funding, boosting the nursing workforce.

North Carolina faces a nursing shortage, with a predicted deficit of about 17,000 nurses by 2033. But there’s good news. Thanks to grants funded by the Biden-Harris administration, three nursing schools are tackling this problem with special training programs that bring healthcare workers into high-need positions, especially in underserved communities or rural areas. 

That funding surge was an intentional policy in direct response to the devastating toll the pandemic took on healthcare workers. 

“We would talk about frontline workers and people would be out on their balconies banging pots to thank them. Well, we need to thank them every day, not just during the height of a crisis, because the work they do is that essential,” Vice President Kamala Harris said earlier this year in support of health care workers. “We owe you, those workers, so much more than applauding you. We owe you more than that structurally and in our system.”

The Director of Advanced Nursing Programs at University of North Carolina Greensboro,Wanda Williams, PhD, RN, explained the significance of the grants: “It is essential to ensure a diversified workforce of health professionals that is reflective of the communities and populations being served. Financial barriers can be a major deterrent for many nurses from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds, and the ANEW [Advanced Nursing Education Workforce] Program will significantly help reduce this barrier for registered nurses wishing to achieve an advanced degree.”

Advanced nursing education workforce grants

The Biden-Harris administration distributed grants to help fund programs that will increase the number of primary care nurses, clinical specialists, certified midwives, and health care workers in other high-demand fields.

Each program received about $2.6 million, distributed over the next four years. This funding provides scholarships, expands training programs, and brings workers into high-need positions and communities. Here are the highlights in North Carolina:

• Duke University: continues a partnership with Cohen Veterans Network that provides students with scholarships and the opportunity to practice at mental health clinics for veterans, who often face mental health issues.
• UNC-Chapel Hill: trains students to work in rural and medically underserved areas, focusing on advanced education in treating substance use disorders, mental illness, and in building community resilience.
• UNC Greensboro: supports students who come from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds with school costs, allowing them to pursue a graduate degree in adult care (AGPCNP) and family care (FNP).

Sean Convoy, director of Duke’s Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (PMHNP) program, explains that this funding helps “our passion to train PMHNPs to support vulnerable and underserved populations … This scholarship can reduce the financial burden on students entering the workforce, which can create an opportunity for them to consider employment in support of traditionally underserved populations.” 

Some graduates have already returned to work at the veteran clinics they trained at, demonstrating the program’s success.

North Carolina nursing schools also received funding for nurse faculty loans and nurse anesthetist training. 

See all awards from the Biden-Harris administration here.