Nurse Practitioner Scholarships Applications Available

Published on: May 28, 2019

Watertown, New York — Applications are now being accepted for the 2nd Annual Susan Peters Nursing Scholarship. A retired nurse from Samaritan Medical Center has established a scholarship through the Samaritan Medical Center Foundation for Registered Nurses (RNs) looking to advance their careers as Nurse Practitioners.

The Susan Peters Nursing Scholarship was established in 2018 to assist with the education costs for an RN who is continuing his/her education, specifically to pursue a Nurse Practitioner degree. Two scholarships of $2,000 will be awarded each year.

Mrs. Peters graduated from the former House of the Good Samaritan School of Nursing and retired from Samaritan Medical Center as a Certified Oncology Nurse; prior to that she had served as a staff RN and more than 20 years as a Nurse Manager of Medical/Surgical, Orthopedic and ALC Units.

Mrs. Peters explained that “she wanted to have some impact on the future of nursing in our community, and set up this particular scholarship to promote the Nurse Practitioner profession because she felt there is an increasing need for such due to the nationwide shortage of physicians.”

The first recipients of the Susan Peters Scholarship were awarded in 2018 – Shellie Greene and Erin Phinney both RN’s at Samaritan Medical Center.

Nurse Practitioners are able to provide many of the same services as physicians, including developing treatment plans for their patients, ordering tests, performing minor procedures and prescribing medication.

The application period for the Susan Peters Nursing Scholarship opens on May 28, 2019 and concludes July 19, 2019 with scholarship award announcement in August 2019.

To be eligible for this scholarship, candidates must meet the following criteria:

• Must be a registered nurse (RN) with a minimum of two full years’ working experience. RNs currently working for Samaritan Medical Center preferred, but not mandatory.
• Medical/Surgical experience preferred but not necessary.
• Must be a resident of either Jefferson or Lewis County, New York.
• Eligible to apply after successful completion of first semester in a Nurse Practitioner program with at least a B average.

As part of the application, Registered Nurses must describe why they are pursuing their Nurse Practitioner degree and where, as well as whether or not they have a financial need. Two letters of recommendation and a transcript must be submitted with the application to support the RNs pursuit of a Nurse Practitioner degree.

For more information, or to obtain a scholarship application, please contact the SMC Foundation at 315-785-5745 or visit samaritanhealth.com/scholarships. Completed forms can be emailed or mailed to the SMC Foundation at [email protected] or 830 Washington Street, Watertown, NY 13601.