Fairfield University's Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies has received a $2.59 million grant through the Advanced Nursing Education Workforce Program of the Health Resources and Services Administration.
“We are thrilled to be selected for this funding,” said Dr. Kathryn E. Phillips, associate professor of nursing and the principal investigator on the project, titled “Nursing Education on Wellness and Telehealth.”
The four-year grant will support the university’s Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner programs, in which students receive tuition support and opportunities to provide care for diverse patients in underserved community settings within an inter-professional team. Through the program, the Egan School will develop curriculum on cultural competence, wellness, and telehealth.
“It allows us to continue to provide exceptional learning opportunities for our graduate students, while increasing the number and diversity of nurse practitioners prepared to provide evidence-based, culturally competent primary care and mental health services in underserved communities,” said Phillips.
Fairfield’s doctoral (DNP) and master's (MSN) Family Nurse Practitioner programs prepare advanced practice nurses to provide holistic care to individuals of all ages, from newborn babies to end of life. Students work in all care settings with a focus on delivering health promotion and disease prevention to people with acute and chronic disease.
The DNP and MSN programs in Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner studies (PMHNP) prepare nurses to assess, diagnose, and treat acute and chronic psychiatric disorders in children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly. Students develop competency in leading therapeutic groups, implementing crisis and case management, prescribing psychotropic medications, and conducting psychotherapy. The programs are designed to meet the national competencies for PMHNP set forth by the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties.