Jacqueline Bui University of Alabama at Birmingham UAB School of Nursing students Jacqueline Bui and Anna Hoenig are among 46 nurses around the country this year to receive a prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholars program award to support their doctoral study.
The RWJF Future of Nursing Scholars program promotes leadership and is designed to increase the number of nurses holding Ph.D.s in Alabama and around the country. More Ph.D.-prepared nurses are needed to increase the number of nurse leaders, conduct nurse-led science and discovery, and educate the next generation of nurses, according to the National Institute of Medicine.
Bui, a Springville, Alabama, native and recent graduate of the UAB School of Nursing Bachelor of Science in Nursing Honors degree program, has worked as a staff nurse in the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit at UAB Hospital and is working with Associate Dean for Research Karen Meneses, Ph.D., to study cardiovascular effects in breast cancer survivors as part of her dissertation research.
Hoenig, a Cullman, Alabama, native and 2014 graduate of the UAB BSN Honors Program, is working with Associate Professor David Vance, Ph.D., to study cognitive function in older adults with HIV as part of her dissertation research.
Anna Hoenig“We are thrilled to have both Jacqueline Bui and Anna Hoenig in our Ph.D. program, specifically in the BSN to Ph.D. program we offer,” said Doreen Harper, Ph.D., UAB School of Nursing dean and Fay B. Ireland Endowed Chair. “Both were exceptional baccalaureate students and leaders among their colleagues. I am confident both will excel in this program and will make great impact with their research and in the profession.”
The Future of Nursing Scholars program provides grants to schools of nursing so they can provide scholarships to Ph.D. candidates who will commit to completing the program in three years. Both Bui and Hoenig will receive an award of $75,000, as well as mentoring and leadership development over the course of the Ph.D. program.
Less than 1 percent of the nation’s more than 3 million nurses have Ph.D.s in nursing or a related field. In addition, the average age at which nurses get their Ph.D.s in the United States is 46, which is13 years older than Ph.D. earners in other fields. This program will provide an incentive for nurses to start doctoral programs earlier so they can have long leadership careers after earning their Ph.D.s.
The Future of Nursing Scholars program launched last year with an inaugural cohort of 16 scholars. This new cohort brings the number of nurses it is supporting to 62.
Learn more about UAB School of Nursing academic programs by visiting its website.