Stipend initiative for PMHNP students takes off

The college is now well into the implementation phase of two grants that aim to get more nurses trained in mental health into underserved areas. Specially, the college has been offering stipends to graduate students who wish to receive training as psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNP) and agree to work for at least two years in a state or federally designated medically area. Many of these areas are in rural or urban communities.

To date, seven students have already received stipends of $10,000 and an additional 10 new students will be eligible to receive their stipends once they start taking their core PMHNP courses. The students, thus far, have come from the counties of Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, Muskegon and Presque Isle.

In an effort to expand the program into more rural areas, the college is looking to partner with Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, as well as other possible colleges and universities.

“It has been inspiring to see how these grants are already making a difference,” said Dr. Dawn Goldstein, director of the college’s Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program. “We are looking forward to expanding the program and bringing this desperately needed expertise into some of the state’s most vulnerable communities.”

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, in 2021, 39.9 percent of Michigan adults reported symptoms of anxiety or depression and 4.2 million of the state’s residents — or about 42 percent — live in a community that does not have enough mental health professionals.

Learn more about our Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program.