 
U.S. Army Lauds School of Nursing |
In recognition of this prestigious award, a ceremony was held May 8 at the school in which Army officials presented a plaque to school faculty and staff. Two St. Louis-area scholarship winners also received certificates.
The Army has made available five scholarships each of four-year, three-year and two-year awards. Two- and three-year scholarships are designed to attract transfer students, but current School of Nursing students are also eligible. After graduation, the students are obligated to fulfill four years of active duty and four years of reserve duty.
"The nursing shortage is affecting everyone, including the Army," said Elaine Dempsey, director of marketing and recruitment at the School of Nursing. "The Nurse Corps is an elite group of baccalaureate-degreed nurses who are demonstrated leaders. To find such qualified nurses, the Army looks to respected nursing schools for their graduates."
"It's a great cooperative relationship," said Dr. Joan Hrubetz, dean of the School of Nursing. "PNE status enables us to recruit high-caliber students by offering scholarships to an excellent nursing program, and the Army, in turn, will have highly prepared nurses to serve in its Nurse Corps."
It's also an opportunity for students. "After receiving an excellent nursing education at Saint Louis University, the scholarship recipients then go on to a rewarding nursing career in the Army," said Major Linda Caswell, ROTC representative, U.S. Army. "Often the experience gained during active duty is more quickly paced, and allows for more responsibility and advancement than in the civilian nursing environment. It's not uncommon for nurses to have doubled their income by the time they complete their active duty."
Why was Saint Louis University School of Nursing chosen for such a highly selective program? Factors such as graduation rate, passage rate on the nursing licensing boards, quality of the curriculum, degree programs and faculty, and reputation all were taken into account. "The Army was also impressed by our ranking in The Gourman Report, which ranked our school in the top three percent of all nursing schools in the United States," Dempsey said.
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