Giving-College of Nursing - University of Arkansas Medical Sciences

While the College of Nursing’s educational accolades have been impressive, its service invaluable and its research changing the way patients are cared for, the stark financial realities of running the College are more apparent than ever. Compounding the integral need for monetary resources is the overriding need for trained nursing professionals in our society.

How you can help
We ask that you imagine the future of healthcare. Now imagine a future without nurses. Your donations can help establish stable funding for the College of Nursing - making certain that the healthcare needs of our community will always be met.

UAMS is currently involved in a comprehensive campaign to ensure a healthier future for Arkansans. A significant portion of Campaign Imagine, which has a goal of $325 million, will be designated to fund critical initiatives within the UAMS College of Nursing.

Funding Opportunities

Faculty
By 2010, the state could lose approximately 50 percent of its doctoral-level faculty and a large number of master’s degree-level faculty in RN and LPN programs because of retirement. Recruiting faculty continues to be difficult since the median salary of nursing faculty is less than that earned by RNs in practice. Nurse practitioners can earn as much as 57 percent more than a master’s degree-level faculty member.

The need to hire and retain highly qualified faculty demands that salaries be increased if we are to attract the brightest and best. In addition, endowing faculty chairs and professorships can provide an immediate impact. Specific areas addressed will be endowments for chairs in cardiovascular, psychiatric, neuro/orthopaedic and geriatric nursing as well as professorships in health care disparities, pediatrics and family medicine. Donate online today.

Scholarships
The looming nursing crisis is certainly not due to lack of student interest in the field. Instead, it is largely attributable to the lack of availability of student financial aid. The College of Nursing relies solely on the generosity of donors for student scholarships - tuition for an undergraduate nursing student is approximately $7,000 a year; for a graduate student approximately $6,000 a year. Some of the specific financial needs your donation will help address are need-based scholarships, merit scholarships, endowed scholarships and funds to recruit more minority students. Donate online today.

Education
Funds are needed to reinstate the Fast Track pilot program, which allowed college graduates to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in one year but had to be discontinued due to lack of funding, The College also is striving to develop a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) for those students desiring advanced doctoral preparation to serve as expert clinicians, faculty administrators and in areas where system changes are needed and research utilization is desired. Donate online today.

Facilities
To provide today’s students with knowledge necessary to be effective caregivers, state-of-the-art technology is a must. Computers, simulators and lab equipment must be upgraded not only to effectively educate but also to compete for faculty and students. Additional dedicated lab space is absolutely critical to the hands-on learning that is required to teach these next generation health care providers. Donate online today.

Research
The quest for innovation in patient care cannot be valued enough. Nursing researchers at UAMS go beyond causes and cures, guided by a holistic mission to improve the overall quality of patient life through diligent learning and educational outreach to the community. It is imperative that nursing conducts research to improve health outcomes, including tailoring interventions to individual patients. Your support of nursing research can help significantly strengthen the overall quality of both individual health and the health care system as a whole. Donate online today.

Service
The College has a commitment to service through scholarly participation of faculty and students in academic, professional and community organizations. Faculty members serve as skilled clinicians, consultants and professional experts in health care organizations and in the community and serve as role models for students and other nurses at local, state, national and international levels. Funding is needed to cover faculty expenses to attend nursing conferences. Costs have skyrocketed limiting many faculty members from attending or presenting at key meetings, which are vital to promotion and tenure issues and the advancement of nursing science. Donate online today.

Contact Us
To learn more about these and other funding opportunities in the UAMS College of Nursing, please contact:

Cynthia Gregory, Associate Director of Development, College of Nursing
(501) 603-1413 or cmgregory@uams.edu