2018 Oklahoma Annual Book of Reports

2018 Oklahoma Nurses Association
NURSING SCHOLARSHIP ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Beverly Botchlet, RN, MS
For the past several years I have represented ONA as a committee member on the Nursing Scholarship
Advisory Committee (NSAC) with the Physician Manpower Training Commission (PMTC). Meetings were
traditionally held each year in July after the statewide interviews had been completed with applicants from
all over the state of Oklahoma. However, with recent budget cuts, annual meetings and annual interviews
were cut. Members of the NSAC Committee, in addition to the Oklahoma Nurses Association, remain to
be comprised of representatives from the Rural Hospital Nursing Service, Urban Hospital Nursing Service,
Oklahoma Association of Healthcare Providers, Oklahoma Hospital Association, Oklahoma League for
Nursing, Oklahoma State Association of Licensed Practical Nurses, Oklahoma League for Nursing, Associate
Degree Nursing Director’s Council, Association of Deans and Directors of Baccalaureate and Higher Degree
Nursing Programs, and one Lay Member.
The committee membership role now involves consulting. With the interviews no longer conducted across
the state and with no general annual meeting, the committee members are available as resources. I remain to
be the Vice-Chairperson and serve in that capacity when necessary.
The scholarships are either matching or non-matching, depending upon whether the student has matched
with a sponsoring facility or not. These student nurses are enrolled in LPN, ADN, BSN and Masters Nursing
Programs from across the state of Oklahoma as well as some national online Internet programs. Students
are now screened by the staff at Physician Manpower Training Commission. Determination of qualified
candidates are made at that time.
In order to qualify for a scholarship a recipient must be a legal resident of the State of Oklahoma, citizen
of the United States, and unconditionally accepted into a nursing program. For each year of financial
assistance, there will be a one-year full-time work obligation (or equivalent thereof) worked by the recipient.
The obligation is fulfilling at the sponsoring health institution if the funds are matched/sponsored or at a
qualified health institution if the scholarship is a non-match. Maximum assistance is for two years for each
program.
PMTC has placed nurses in all 77 counties, mostly in rural hospitals and nursing homes. The purpose of
the program is to provide assistance to Oklahoma nursing students pursuing LPN, ADN, BSN or MSN
degrees and who are interested in practicing or teaching nursing in Oklahoma communities, with emphasis
placed on rural or smaller communities. There are many more applicants that will be turned down due to
limited funding. Physician Manpower has assisted nearly 6,700 nursing students since 1982 and will provide
scholarships to approximately 215 students for the academic year of 2017-2018. The funding for the current
academic year is attached to this report.
Respectively,
Beverly Botchlet, RN, MS
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