CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield said this morning it will give out $1.28 million in scholarships to nurses who want to get Master's degrees and become professors.
The state's largest insurer is hoping to help tackle the nursing shortage by increasing the number of college faculty available to train new nurses.
The scholarships are part of a program called Project RN that CareFirst launched in 2007. CareFirst will award 16 two-year scholarships, or $80,000 per student. The scholarships will be distributed through colleges and universities in the insurer's coverage area, which includes Maryland, Washington D.C. and Virginia.
Nurses should apply directly through the schools. Schools that have participated in Project RN are Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Georgetown University, Howard University, Towson University, George Mason University, Marymount University and Catholic University.
Project RN has helped 14 nurses earn their graduate degrees over the years. Twelve nurses continue to teach undergraduate classes.