By Hans-Peter De Ruiter
MNAF Chair
MNAF Board Chair
For years the MNA Foundation has supported nurses in their pursuit of continuing their academic careers. MNA members have completed BSN programs, become nurse educators, nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, and nurse anesthetists; they have earned master’s degrees, doctorates and PhDs all in the pursuit of advancing the nursing profession and taking patient advocacy to new heights.
Today the foundation is thrilled to announce a new and very exciting scholarship, named in honor of our country’s first African-American graduate nurse, Mary Eliza Mahoney. The Mary Eliza Mahoney scholarship will provide financial support to a fellow union member who wants to become a nurse and a member of the MNA. The Minnesota Nurses Association recognizes that myriad institutional and structural barriers keep many people from a nursing career. While approximately 20 percent of Minnesotans identify as people of color, fewer than 6 percent of registered nurses do. We want to foster the creation of a diverse team of nurses that reflects the diversity of our communities. In order to contribute to a reversal of institutionalized racism in healthcare, the MNA Foundation is establishing a scholarship for a promising nurse of color and union leader. The Mahoney Scholarship recipient will receive $2,500 per semester of nursing school up to a total of $10,000.
First African-American Nurse in the USA
Every day MNA members rely on the skilled work of nursing assistants, aids, and custodial staff to keep patients safe, to protect against infection, and to provide for patients a sense of well-being and support. The foundation board is seeking candidates for this scholarship who may come strongly recommended by MNA nurses who have worked side by side with an SEIU member. Do you know of aids or unlicensed assistive personnel who would make great nurses? Please encourage them to apply!
I am joined by the full MNA Foundation board in our enthusiastic celebration of this new scholarship. We look forward to inviting our first Mary Eliza Mahoney Scholar to the 2019 MNA Convention.
Find more information about the MNAF Board and how to apply for the Mary Eliza Mahoney Scholarship here: https://mnnurses.org/resources/mnaf/the-mary-eliza-mahoney-memorial-10000-scholarship-to-pursue-a-nursing-degree/