Columbia Nursing Receives Future of Nursing Scholarships from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Columbia University School of Nursing was one of only 28 schools nationwide to be selected for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) Future of Nursing Scholars program. The program will sponsor two Columbia Nursing students for the fall cohort while they pursue their PhDs.
The goal of the scholarship is to help develop the next generation of PhD-prepared nurse leaders committed to long-term careers that advance science and discovery, strengthen nurse education, and bring transformational change to nursing and health care. Recipients receive financial support, mentoring, and leadership development from the program while completing their PhDs.
Columbia Nursing’s PhD students reflect outstanding potential to contribute to the profession. Among the highly qualified PhD students who applied for the spaces allotted, Columbia Nursing faculty chose Cilgy Abraham and Anthony Pho to receive the 2017 Future of Nursing scholarships. The RWJF scholars were chosen due to their well-conceptualized research question and prior experiences, which will enable them to achieve the Future of Nursing Scholars program goal of completing PhD study in 3 years.
The students will begin their PhDs with Columbia Nursing in the fall of 2017:
Cilgy Abraham, BS, RN, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Scholar, is interested in health policy and management, comparative and cost-effectiveness research, and the impact that nurse work environments have on patient outcomes and quality of care. Abraham graduated summa cum laude from Rutgers University with a BS in Nursing, and completed a certification program in Women’s leadership from the Institute for Women’s Leadership at Rutgers. Since becoming a Registered Nurse, she has worked in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Anthony Pho, MSN, MPH, ANP-C, a Robert Wood Johnson Future of Nursing Scholar, is interested in LGBT health disparities. Specifically, he is interested in developing app-based technology interventions to facilitate HIV/STI prevention and health promotion in high-risk, minority men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women, two groups that represent high rates of new infections. Pho earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Berkeley, his Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing from the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, and his Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
This is the fourth year Columbia Nursing has been a recipient of the award. The 51 nurses supported in this round will join 109 Scholars across the three previous cohorts. Congratulations to our RWJF Future of Nursing scholars.