Elena O. Siegel, an assistant professor at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at University of California-Davis and a 2011 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar, is a fine example of the kind of nurse leaders the new fellowship hopes to create. Siegel is a former Claire M. Fagin Postdoctoral Fellow, funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity program and Atlantic Philanthropies.With the memory of the greeting card and chocolate-fueled Valentine’s Day in our rear view mirror, we would like to honor the part of the holiday that focuses on relationships by announcing a new partnership.
The Gerontological Society of America’s National Hartford Centers of Gerontological Nursing Excellence has joined with The Atlantic Philanthropies’ Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program to create a fellowship for nursing professionals to gain the experience and skills necessary to develop and implement health policies that affect our aging society.
“Our partnership permits both programs to do more together than we could do alone,” says J Taylor Harden, PhD, RN, Director of the National Hartford Centers. “As a result, we are stronger and exert greater influence in our combined efforts to advocate for health policies and legislation that affect older Americans.”
During the nine- to 12-month program, fellows will receive a core training program focused on current policy issues, communication skills development, and professional networking opportunities, as well as policy experience and the opportunity to work on projects. Applicants must have earned a PhD or equivalent at the time of award activation and have no more than five years postdoctoral research training. DNP applicants are not eligible.
Meg Wallhagen, PhD, GNP-BC, Director of the Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence at the University of California, San Francisco and 2009-10 Health and Aging Policy Fellow, lauds the opportunities offered by the program.
“There are many benefits of becoming an Atlantic Philanthropies Health and Aging Policy Fellow, but two stand out for me. One was the opportunity to gain a more comprehensive understanding of legislative and policy-making processes and of the critical importance of being aware of the views of all stakeholders when considering policy change. The other is how it opens the door to a vast network of contacts and provides opportunities to build relationships that continue well beyond the Fellowship experience itself,” Wallhagen says.
Applications are due April 15, with the first round of reviews in mid-May and interviews and selection in mid-June. Fellows are selected based on their commitment to health and aging issues, leadership potential, and interest in aging-relevant policy work. While the selected applicant of this award will be a gero nurse, the Health and Aging Policy Fellows program has a multidisciplinary focus, with fellows representing a broad spectrum of professionals from senior professors to newly minted PhDs, physicians, social workers, nurses, psychologists, dieticians, healthcare administrators, epidemiologists, economists, and lawyers.
Fellows will attend Health & Aging Policy activities such as the AcademyHealth Policy Orientation and the National Program Office Aging Policy Orientation in Washington DC in October 2013, as well as the American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship Program Orientation in DC in November 2013. In November 2014, Fellows will participate in the National Hartford Centers of Gerontological Nursing Excellence’s annual Leadership Conference http://www.geriatricnursing.org/leadership/leadership-conference.asp.
We would LOVE if you would consider this opportunity. If you’re still not sure, listen to what Harold Alan Pincus, MD, Director of the Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program, has to say: “The Health and Aging Policy Fellows program is designed to build a cadre of leaders whose contributions to policy making will enhance the lives of older Americans for decades to come. Nurses have a unique perspective on health care and health policy and we have had great success with the participation of nurses in the Fellowship thus far. This truly synergistic partnership will allow us to expand opportunities and heighten policy impact.”
For additional information about this funding opportunity, see "About the Fellowship—Partnerships."