Academics

Nursing faculty member selected for national leadership program

Gwen McGhan, registered nurse and former project administrator for Penn State's Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence in the School of Nursing, has been selected to participate in the Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholar Program, starting in fall 2010. The program, co-created by the John A. Hartford Foundation and the Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence, is designed to increase the number of well-qualified geriatric nursing faculty in the nation and to help ensure that all nurses are prepared to care for our rapidly aging population.

McGhan is one of 40 Jonas Scholars nationally, and one of only nine nurse scholars across the country being supported in affiliation with a Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence. The Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholar Program will provide stipends of $32,000 distributed over two years, with funding coming from the Jonas Center and the Hartford-funded Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity (BAGNC) coordinating center, housed at the American Academy of Nursing. Scholars also will receive extensive mentoring and leadership training as part of the annual BAGNC Leadership Conference. The BAGNC coordinating center will provide administrative oversight for the program.

McGhan received her bachelor of arts degree from the University of Alberta, and both her bachelor of nursing (with distinction) and master of nursing in evidence-based nursing practice from the University of Manitoba. McGhan is a co-author on conference presentations and publications including the Best Paper Proceedings of the 2010 Academy of Management Meeting, Montreal, Canada. Her doctoral research will focus on improving the quality of life at the end of life for older adults.

About the John A. Hartford Foundation: Founded in 1929, the John A. Hartford Foundation is a committed champion of health care training, research, and service system innovations that will ensure the well-being and vitality of older adults. Its overall goal is to increase the nation’s capacity to provide effective, affordable care to its rapidly increasing older population.

About the Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence: Founded in February of 2006, the Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence is supported by the Barbara and Donald Jonas Family Fund. Its mission is to advance professional nursing through grant making and programs that improve nurse recruitment and retention, increase ethnic and racial diversity among the nursing workforce, advance innovative practice models, and improve practice settings in New York City.

About the American Academy of Nursing: The American Academy of Nursing anticipates and tracks national and international trends in health care, while addressing the resulting issues of health care knowledge and policy. The academy’s mission is to serve the public and nursing profession by advancing health policy and practice through the generation, synthesis, and dissemination of nursing knowledge.

Last Updated January 9, 2015

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