PhD student Lowe receives scholarships from NBNA, HPNF

Lowe Marcia headshotMarcia LoweUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Nursing fifth-year PhD student Marcia Lowe, MSN, RN-BC, has received two prestigious scholarships that will assist her in completing her doctoral studies.

Lowe has received the Lynne Edwards Research Scholarship from the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) and the Individual Education Scholarship Doctorate Level 2016 from the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation (HPNF).

“I am very excited, but I am also very humbled and grateful to both organizations for these scholarships,” Lowe said. “To even be considered is an honor, and I am very appreciative.”

The Lynne Edwards Research Scholarship is sponsored by Dr. Linda Burnes-Bolton, past president of the NBNA, in honor of her mother, Mrs. Lynne Edwards. Burnes-Bolton is a trustee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which contributes to the scholarship as part of its matching gift program.

Lowe will receive the one-year, $5,000 award during the NBNA Annual Institute and Conference in August in Memphis, Tennessee. 

Lowe served on the NBNA Board of Directors and as chair of the national program and membership committees from 2010 to 2013. She was also president of the Birmingham Black Nurses Association from 2005 to 2008.

The one-year, $3,000 HPNF Individual Education Scholarship is one of two awarded at the doctorate level and one of six total HPNF awards presented in four categories. The scholarships were established by the HPNF in 2004 to provide financial assistance for nursing professionals earning academic degrees.

Lowe’s doctoral topic is “The Influence of Organizational Support, Social Support, and Nurse Demographics on Burnout in Palliative Care Nurses.” She is mentored by UAB School of Nursing Donna Brown Banton Endowed Professor Pat Patrician, PhD, RN, FAAN.

“I am looking forward to completing my studies so that I may further develop my research and teaching skills, thus making a positive influence in the clinical and academic arena,” Lowe said. “My long-term objective is to contribute to the current faculty shortage by serving full time as a professor in a school of nursing.”

Lowe is currently employed by the Birmingham VA Medical Center as a Nurse Educator in Staff Development. 

For more information about the UAB School of Nursing's PhD program, click here

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