The Friends of Nursing is a volunteer philanthropic group of people who believe that “Everyone, at some point in their life, will need a registered nurse.” They are passionate about ensuring that when that time comes there will be well educated, knowledgeable, and profoundly qualified nurses available to all who need them.
Among other philanthropic activities, the Friends of Nursing board holds a dinner fundraiser every year to celebrate excellence in nursing. The 2011 and 2012 dinners resulted in a check for $95,800 to be presented to Dr. Pam Springer, Associate Dean of the College of Health Sciences and Director of the School of Nursing, at the March 2013 monthly meeting.
Members of the Friends of Nursing Board are forward thinking and are ensuring that Boise State School of Nursing is on the leading edge of contributing to the solutions of current and future shortfalls in the new health care system. Some of the money will be used for student scholarships as designated by individual donors, but much of it will be focused on recruiting and retaining faculty. Funds will be used to develop faculty by helping them continue their education or supporting current faculty with awards that can be used to enhance research or professional development. The salary disparity between practicing nurses and nursing educators is great. It is difficult to recruit and retain highly qualified nursing faculty with such low salaries unless there is some additional incentive.
“To be the premiere school of nursing in the Northwest, Boise State University needs to focus on recruiting and retaining high quality faculty who will prepare graduates for the challenges in health care,” said Dr. Springer. “The work of the Friends of Nursing has helped our school realize a dream of financial support for our faculty. We are so blessed to have a group of volunteers who are so dedicated to our school.”