Opportunities for Alabama's Registered Nurses
Alabama and the U.S. have a primary care service deficit, especially in medically underserved areas, and BSN-prepared RNs are capable of assuming greater responsibility for care management for patients with chronic conditions across all levels of prevention, as well as follow-up and complex specialty care coordination for those discharged from the hospital. BSN-prepared RNs can provide safe, high-quality care to at-risk populations such as patients with multiple chronic conditions, while also managing the costs of such care.
RN Primary Care Scholars
The UAB School of Nursing’s RN Primary Care Scholars initiative, with the Tuskegee University School of Nursing and Allied Health as an affiliate partner, focuses on training and sustaining baccalaureate-prepared RNs in medically underserved areas. It also builds on the UAB School of Nursing’s expertise in interprofessional collaborative practice and education for community-based chronic disease management of individuals with complex medical conditions.
About RN Primary Care Scholars
RN Primary Care Scholars are part of the project, “Building a Resilient Primary Care Registered Nurse Workforce for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control in Alabama,” funded by a Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention (NEPQR) grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). It focuses on training and sustaining baccalaureate-prepared RNs help improve health outcomes in medically underserved areas in Alabama.
RN Primary Care Scholars enroll in the same courses as their classmates but receive mentoring, individualized content relative to rural health issues, preceptorships with rural health providers, and other opportunities for professional and leadership development.
It is structured to provide the primary care RN workforce with skills to cope with the challenges of caregiving and the unique needs of vulnerable populations, develop best practice models, and for continuing professional development and to create a supportive network of primary care RNs across the state of Alabama to learn and share approaches for helping the medically underserved.
To apply you must:
- Be a senior undergraduate BSN or RN-to-BSN students with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or greater.
- Have a faculty recommendation.
- Plan to practice in a rural area upon graduation.
RN Primary Care Scholars Will:
- Gain clinical experience with primary care registered nurses.
- Participate in the Concepts in Primary Care elective providing opportunities to discuss topics in primary care and learn from guest speakers.
- Develop resiliency strategies through learning opportunities led by a resilience coach.
- Gain leadership experience through the selection and implementation of a group project with the Vulnerable Populations special interest group.
- Participate in an annual conference, which includes face-to-face networking, hands-on skills training and learning from experts in the field.
RN Primary Care Scholars Initiative Goals
- Educate undergraduate nursing students and practicing RNs in team-focused primary care.
- Provide ongoing professional development to meet the needs of rural primary care registered nurses, though distance-accessible activities, including online television broadcasts.
- Create primary care nurse leaders in rural health for Alabama and beyond.
- Build on the UAB School of Nursing’s expertise in interprofessional collaborative practice and education for community-based chronic disease management of individuals with complex medical conditions.
- Help improve health outcomes in medically underserved areas in Alabama.
- Keep RNs healthy and engaged over the course of a career.
