Two Grad Students Named Nurses Education Funds Scholar Recipients

Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing doctoral students Alisha Bhimani, BSN, and Carrie Henry, MSN, CNM, are among the 23 candidates selected for the Nurses Education Funds (NEF) 2020–2021 scholar list. NEF is a not-for-profit scholarship organization for registered nurses seeking to further their education and in need of financial assistance. The NEF board directors are predominately in the nursing field and select recipients based on their academic excellence, community service, and potential to make impactful contributions to their field.

Alisha Bhimani is the recipient of the Eleanor C. Lambertsen Scholarship, a fund awarded annually to a doctoral applicant in nursing education or administration. She earned a bachelor of science in nursing from Emory University and is continuing with a population health doctorate in nursing practice with a focus in family and emergency medicine at Emory.

For more than two years, Bhimani worked and lived in Khorog, Tajikistan, to study and implement a curriculum using evidence-based protocols for better patient care. Her goal is to work with health care institutions worldwide to advance the training of medical professionals. She hopes her contributions improve the quality of patient care by outlining protocols for effective team communications on a global scale.

Carrie Henry was awarded the 2020–2021 Miriam M. Powell Scholarship, an annual fund dedicated to clinical nursing leadership. She earned a bachelor of science in nursing from the Capstone College of Nursing at the University of Alabama, and a master of science in nursing in nurse-midwifery from the Medical University of South Carolina.

Henry practiced as a labor and delivery nurse for four years and a nurse-midwife for six years, where mentoring opportunities inspired her to teach. After five years of teaching undergraduate nursing students at Emory, she discovered her passion for research and began her pursuit of a PhD. Henry’s dissertation study focuses on the coping methods of Black women after a stillbirth, research that will help to develop quality care for mothers following perinatal loss.

The scholarships presented by NEF are highly competitive and are awarded once for a full academic year. The number of recipients and the amount of funds depends on availability, as many contributions to the NEF programs are made by leaders in the nursing community, nursing institutions, and other organizations with a passion to further nursing education.