Last month, four registered nurses in the field of maternal-child nursing each received a $5,000 scholarship from the March of Dimes to continue their graduate studies in the field.
As part of the March of Dimes’ work to prevent premature births and birth defects around the globe, the organization has awarded scholarships every year since 1997 to registered nurses that have proven excellence in their efforts to improve the health of women and children.
For 2011, the winners are:
Annie Rohan, MSN, RNC, NNP/PNP — Stony Brook, N.Y.
Rohan is studying the effects of recurrent pain on the long-term development of premature infants cared for in the neonatal ICU as part of her pursuit of a PhD at Columbia University in New York.
Rachel Newhouse, RN — Chicago, Il.
Studying at the University of Illinois, Newhouse is pursing a graduate degree in nurse midwifery and women’s health. She also volunteered at a midwifery clinic in Haiti.
Rebecca Pfender, RN — Philadelphia, Pa.
After spending a year with AmeriCorps educating Philadelphia women about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Pfender volunteers with underserved populations. She is pursing a master’s degree in nurse midwifery at the University of Pennsylvania.
Julie Perkins, RN — Baltimore, Md.
Also pursing a master’s degree in nurse midwifery (from Shenandoah University), Perkins is studying advanced practice nursing with a women’s health specialty at Johns Hopkins University. She has volunteered in the Dominican Republic as well as Kampala, Uganda to support women and children’s health, and currently works with the free community clinic in East Baltimore.
Application’s for next year’s scholarships will be available this fall and will be due January 16, 2012. They can be found at the March of Dimes scholarship website. Qualified applicants will be registered nurses currently enrolled in a maternal-child nursing program at the master’s or doctorate level. Additionally, applicants must be a member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses or the National Association of Neonatal Nurses.
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