Wilson School of Nursing awarded $2.7 million grant to train students for work in underserved areas

Two years ago, Midwestern State University’s Wilson School of Nursing received a $1.6 million Advanced Nursing Education Workforce (ANEW) grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The grant supported the training of graduate students in the family nurse practitioners (FNP) program for work in rural and medically underserved areas, places where medical care is desperately needed.

Now, a $2.7 million competing continuation ANEW grant will support the second phase of the Medically Underserved Specialization for Advanced Nursing Graduate Students (MUSTANGS). The MUSTANGS II project will continue to prepare FNP students to gain primary care employment through academic and clinical training experiences with rural and underserved populations with a new focus on mental health medical management.

Assistant Professor of Nursing Catherine Pankonien, MUSTANGS II Project Director, said the addition of mental health training is important because of the effects that mental health disorders, including the opioid epidemic, have on rural health care. “Many times, small towns are not prepared to treat mental health issues. That’s not an easy condition to train for. And with the rising opioid crisis, we have to train students to deal with those issues.” Pankonien said.

The grant supports the education of FNP students by using academic-practice partners in the community, and by using telemedicine to communicate with faculty and health-care professionals in partner facilities. MSU Texas has four portable telemedicine units that students can take to rural clinics.