Nursing News:
Bill alters regulations for nursing scholarship

By Sandy Alexander
A bill introduced yesterday in the Maryland General Assembly seeks to help some of the hundreds of nursing students turned away from Maryland schools each year by allowing them to use a state scholarship at out-of-state schools.
Rising interest in nursing careers has overwhelmed four-year schools and community colleges. School officials say they must turn away more than 400 applicants a year, largely because of a shortage of nursing faculty and limited clinical space.
³Weıve done an excellent job of recruiting people to go into nursing,² said Sen. Paula C. Hollinger, a Baltimore County Democrat who introduced the bill. ³Now weıre telling them, ŒWeıre glad you came, but we canıt take you.ı² The bill would change the regulations for a state nursing scholarship program. Qualified students who can show they were rejected from a Maryland school because of a lack of space would be eligible for the scholarship ­ an award of up to $4,500 per year ­ and would be allowed to take it to a school in another state. Like in-state students, they would then be asked to work as a nurse in Maryland when they complete their education.
³What weıre saying is, we donıt want to lose these nurses,² Hollinger said, noting that for some students, a school in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., or West Virginia is a nearby alternative. Others may choose to go farther from home. ³Maryland has had a history of collaboration with other states to provide programs that we donıt have,² said Dawn Marks, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Hospital Association. Marks said that a recent $1.5 million federal grant is one example of the steps Maryland is taking to deal with shortages of health care workers.
Copyright Baltimore Sun 2004.