ASBN Edition 55 : Page 4

Executive Director’s Message SUE A. TEDFORD, MNSc, RN Is Teaching in Your Future? When I was in the middle of my nursing education program, I remember thinking, “I will NEVER teach nursing because it is like being in school 365 days a year, year after year.” Well, my mother always told me to never say never because you often eat your own words — and that I did. Partial way into my nursing career, I went down the dreaded path of teaching in a nursing education program. I fell in love with teaching and maintained that career path for 18 years. Anyone who hasn’t been on a deserted island for the past several years knows there is a shortage of nurses in Arkansas, the United States and the world. The “whys” for the shortage would take more space than available in this magazine but the Arkansas State Board of Nursing is doing what it can to address some of the issues. One of the “whys” being addressed is the lack of qualiﬁed faculty in our nursing programs. The number of faculty directly inﬂuences student capacity. One way the ASBN has chosen to address the issue is to make scholarship funds available to those attending a nursing program. In 2009, Act 9 was passed, which authorized additional funding for the nursing student loan program, speciﬁcally for individuals who are teaching or plan to teach in an Arkansas nursing education program. There are now two tracks to the scholarship program and the eligibility requirements for each are listed below. Faith A. Fields Nursing Scholarship Loan GENERAL REQUIREMENTS • Be an Arkansas resident. • Be a citizen of the United States or permanent resident alien. • Be accepted or enrolled in an Arkansas approved nursing program or nationally accredited out-of-state nursing program that meets requirements of ASBN and Arkansas Department of Higher Education. • Demonstrate a valid ﬁnancial need that is identiﬁed by the required ﬁling of the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) application. • Not be related to an Arkansas State Board of Nursing Board member or staff according to the Arkansas Nepotism policies. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS EDUCATOR LOAN • Teaching or hired to teach in an Arkansas nursing program. • Hold a current unencumbered nursing license. • Agree to teach in an Arkansas nursing program one year for each year the loan is awarded. PRACTICE LOAN • Hold a current unencumbered nursing license (if already licensed as a nurse). • Enrolled in an Arkansas approved or nationally accredited baccalaureate, masters, or doctorate of nursing program. • Agree to practice in Arkansas one year for each year the loan is awarded. 4 501.686.2700

Executive Director’s Message

Sue A. Tedford, MNSc, RN

Is Teaching in Your Future? When I was in the middle of my nursing education program, I remember thinking, “I will NEVER teach nursing because it is like being in school 365 days a year, year after year.” Well, my mother always told me to never say never because you often eat your own words — and that I did. Partial way into my nursing career, I went down the dreaded path of teaching in a nursing education program. I fell in love with teaching and maintained that career path for 18 years. Anyone who hasn’t been on a deserted island for the past several years knows there is a shortage of nurses in Arkansas, the United States and the world. The “whys” for the shortage would take more space than available in this magazine but the Arkansas State Board of Nursing is doing what it can to address some of the issues.One of the “whys” being addressed is the lack of qualified faculty in our nursing programs. The number of faculty directly influences student capacity. One way the ASBN has chosen to address the issue is to make scholarship funds available to those attending a nursing program. In 2009, Act 9 was passed, which authorized additional funding for the nursing student loan program, specifically for individuals who are teaching or plan to teach in an Arkansas nursing education program. There are now two tracks to the scholarship program and the eligibility requirements for each are listed below. Faith A. Fields Nursing Scholarship Loan GENERAL REQUIREMENTS • Be an Arkansas resident. • Be a citizen of the United States or permanent resident alien. • Be accepted or enrolled in an Arkansas approved nursing program or nationally accredited outof- state nursing program that meets requirements of ASBN and Arkansas Department of Higher Education. • Demonstrate a valid financial need that is identified by the required filing of the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) application. • Not be related to an Arkansas State Board of Nursing Board member or staff according to the Arkansas Nepotism policies. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS EDUCATOR LOAN • Teaching or hired to teach in an Arkansas nursing program. • Hold a current unencumbered nursing license. • Agree to teach in an Arkansas nursing program one year for each year the loan is awarded. PRACTICE LOAN • Hold a current unencumbered nursing license (if already licensed as a nurse). • Enrolled in an Arkansas approved or nationally accredited baccalaureate, masters, or doctorate of nursing program. • Agree to practice in Arkansas one year for each year the loan is awarded ASBN has been awarding scholarships since spring 2010. Scholarships have been awarded to 19 recipients in the educator track and 44 recipients in the practice track for a total award amount of $232,500. Twenty nursing programs from around the state have students who have benefited from the Faith A. Fields Nursing Scholarship Loan. These students are spread out around the state and represent 23 Arkansas counties. Don’t miss out on your opportunity to go back to school. Check out this scholarship opportunity at www.arsbn. org. Applications are available on the ASBN website. The completed application and all required documents are due to ASBN by June 1 of each year.

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