Community Corner

Westfield Nurse Among First Class to Earn PhD

Maria Torchia LoGrippo is among a group of nurses actively seeking the first doctorate degrees in the field.

A Westfield woman is among a group of students who have recently earned New Jersey's first doctoral degrees in nursing. 

Maria Torchia LoGrippo, a registered nurse and, now, PhD holder, graduated from Seton Hall University earlier this month after conducting research focusing on how the trusting relationships between pregnant women and certified nurse-midwives leads to positive outcomes for both mothers and their babies.

"My PhD experience has made me committed to improving nursing education in New Jersey, and it’s made me want to continue to do research and provide evidence-based practices for the clinical environment and education,” LoGrippo said in a release.

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The new PhD's future plans include post-doctoral research at Rutgers, part-time teaching, and serving as project director for the New Jersey Action Coalition’s State Implementation Program grant, according to a release.

The first doctoral class is the result of four years of innovation in response to the state's shortage of nurses and nurse faculty. Lead by the New Jersey Nursing Initiative, the program has seen the graduation of five PhD scholars at Seton Hall, three at Rutgers University, plus one master of science in nursing scholar at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

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An additional 13 PhD scholars and one MSN scholar continue their pursuit of advanced degrees.

NJNJ was launched by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation in 2009 to address the state's 10.5 percent nurse faculty vacancy rate. The goal is to avert a projected shortage of more than 23,000 nurses in New Jersey by 2030.

"The New Jersey Nursing Scholars are part of the legacy of NJNI," Program Director Susan Bakewell-Sachs, PhD, RN, PNP-BC said. "But more importantly, they are part of the future of nursing in New Jersey. They were chosen because of their skills and accomplishments, but also because of NJNI’s hope for tomorrow—that these scholars will become the next generation of faculty we need to be sure we can teach the next generation of nurses. I’m so happy with the progress we’ve made."

About NJNI:

NJNI has awarded $21.5 million to a group of institutions of higher education to support the 61 New Jersey Nursing Scholars with full tuition and fees, a $50,000 annual stipend and a laptop computer. In addition to supporting scholars as part of its Faculty Preparation Program, NJNI developed the Nursing Academic Resource Center of New Jersey, an online tool for graduate-level nursing students; and supported the Nursing Centralized Application System, to streamline the nursing school application process for prospective students and monitor the availability of slots in nursing programs. NJNI also launchedWeTeachNursingNJ.org, a website dedicated to nurse faculty career information.


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