The Suncoast Nursing Action Coalition (SNAC) today will award $140,000 in scholarships to 17 Suncoast nurses to help boost the number of bachelor-prepared nurses (BSN) and doctoral-prepared nursing instructors in the Sarasota, Charlotte, Manatee and Desoto counties region. Funded by community donors, the scholarships will help RNs obtain the bachelor’s and doctorate degrees needed to ensure the best care for local patients and produce more faculty nurses qualified to teach BSN programs in the region. Even though decades of research validates the link between BSN-prepared nurses and better patient outcomes and care, roughly half of all nurses graduating today are bypassing standard bachelor’s degrees and becoming licensed RNs through faster, more accessible associate degree programs to meet today’s employer needs. Nursing leaders from the four-county region joined together in this regional effort to produce a more highly educated nursing workforce across the Suncoast.

Suncoast Nursing Action Coalition