For health professionals new to rheumatology, the Health Professional Online Education Grant provides financial support to complete the ARP’s flagship courses: Fundamentals of Rheumatology and eBytes. This grant can also be used by health professionals, including doctors of pharmacy, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and fellows looking for more in-depth education, such as the Advanced Rheumatology Course, explains Ms. Slusher.
Workforce Expansion
According to Dr. Benham, “One of the Foundation’s most recent funding programs, the Mentored Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Award for Workforce Expansion, has been important in addressing the current workforce shortage facing the subspecialty of rheumatology.”
The Mentored Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Award for Workforce Expansion is a 12-month mentorship between nurse practitioners and physician assistants and an ACR member rheumatologist. The award provides resources and the framework of knowledge and skills needed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants who are new to rheumatology to facilitate their integration into a rheumatology practice. The maximum award amount is $25,000 and the application deadline is Dec. 1.3
“The Mentored Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Award for Workforce Expansion seeks to help increase the supply of rheumatology healthcare professionals, especially in underserved areas. Since the inception of this funding opportunity in 2019, the Foundation has awarded funds to 37 programs,” says Dr. Benham. “Our pediatric rheumatology center was one of the initial awardees and this allowed us to add another nurse practitioner to our care team, something that has benefited our patients and families in an immense way.”
Ms. Marchiolo says the Foundation continues “to want to grow the Mentored Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Award for Workforce Expansion. We have seen really great outcomes over the first cycles of the award and would love to see an increase in applications.”
Research Projects
ARP members benefit from the Foundation’s financial support for educational offerings as well as from the opportunity to submit research proposals for funding, says Linda S. Ehrlich-Jones, PhD, RN, associate director at the Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, and a member of the Foundation’s Development Advisory Council.
Dr. Ehrlich-Jones explains that along with the Scientist Development Award, research awards include Career Development Bridge Funding (R Bridge); Career Development Bridge Funding (K Supplement and K Bridge); and the Investigator Award. In addition to the Mentored Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Award for Workforce Expansion, education awards include the Clinician Scholar Educator Award and the Lawren H. Daltroy Preceptorship in Health Communication.
