Rural and Underserved Community Student APRN Initiative

The Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence, in partnership with The Colorado Health Foundation, is pleased to introduce the Rural and Underserved Community APRN Initiative.

[Enrollment in this programs is currently closed. We will be looking for future funding, but at the moment no applications are being invited.]

We are seeking nurses with at least a BSN level education living in rural and/or underserved Colorado who would be willing to practice in rural and/or underserved Colorado and are interested in attaining Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Licensure. The state of Colorado provides the opportunity for APRNs to practice with full practice authority. Many BSN prepared nurses consider returning to a graduate program to become an advanced practice registered nurse but are limited by other factors which typically include costs, child care, flexibility in the workplace, and time.

This initiative provides a stipend to 30 nurses in rural and/or underserved areas of Colorado who agree to return to school to complete an APRN program. Upon graduation, the APRN must contractually agree to practice in rural and/or underserved Colorado for a minimum of two years for every year funded or reimburse the money help find community matching funds to support their educational journey. Additionally, if selected as a Nurse Fellow, the nurse will receive graduate school application assistance and support and mentoring throughout the graduate school experience. The Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence will also work within the community in which the APRN applicant lives and plans to practice to work with the nurse’s current employer to enroll support in allowing a flexible schedule while in school and to obtain community matching funds to assist with education costs.

Click here to download an application for the Fellowship.

Please fill it out and send it to Ingrid Johnson RN, BSN, MPP from the Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence. You can email her at Ingrid@coloradonursingcenter.org or if you have questions she can be reached at 303-715-0342, ext.21.

We look forward to hearing from you!