Virginia has relaunched its Earn to Learn nursing program with $4.8 million to award to partnerships that help nursing students earn income while completing clinical training, Cardinal News reported. Applications are due September 30, and the program is now run by the newly created Virginia Nursing Workforce Center.
Up to 12 grantees can receive as much as $400,000 each over two years. The state is encouraging applicants from rural areas, where nurse shortages are sharpest.
For patients in Southwest and Southside Virginia, the stakes are practical. Fewer nurses can mean longer waits, fewer staffed beds, and less access to care close to home, especially in long-term care and small hospitals.
Eligibility Criteria and How the Money Can Be Used
The program funds partnerships built around state-approved nursing education for future registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. High schools, colleges and universities, hospitals, and health care providers can apply, according to Cardinal News. Students work in roles that match their current credentials while completing school, such as nurse extern, patient care technician, or certified nursing assistant.
The money does not have to go only to student wages. Yvette Dorsey, director of the Virginia Nursing Workforce Center, said applicants can propose spending on student stipends, tuition and fees, testing fees, or faculty support. According to the center's program page, each grant provides $200,000 a year for two years.
The center will judge whether applicants can recruit nursing students, provide meaningful clinical experience, prepare students for practice, help them pass licensing exams, and keep graduates in Virginia.
"We need nurses in Southwest Virginia, in our most rural areas, to be able to support the communities that live there," Dorsey told WHRO. She said how much students earn will depend on each partnership. Unlike a nurse residency program, which supports newly licensed nurses in their first year on the job, Earn to Learn is aimed at students who are still completing their education.
Nurse Shortages Concentrated Outside Richmond and Northern Virginia
State data cited by Cardinal News show why the rural emphasis matters. About 28% of Virginia's registered nurses work in Central Virginia and about 25% in Northern Virginia, while just 3% work in Southside and 4% in Southwest, according to the state Department of Health Professions.
Demand remains high. A George Mason University analysis released in early September counted more than 17,000 job postings for registered nurses and nearly 4,000 for licensed practical nurses statewide, Cardinal News reported. Retirements are expected to add pressure over the next decade.
A Program Reset After Management Changes
The program is not new. The Virginia Department of Health first launched Earn to Learn with federal American Rescue Plan Act funds and awarded more than $4.5 million to its first recipients in September 2024.
The relaunch follows a shift in management. Earlier this year, Cardinal News reported that money for several state nursing scholarship and incentive programs had gone unused because the Health Department lacked capacity to manage them. On March 31, Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed Senate Bill 405, which moved the state's nursing workforce incentive programs from the Health Department to the Virginia Nursing Workforce Center, effective July 1. Current awardees from the earlier round remain under the Health Department until their grants end.
Early results from individual partnerships have been encouraging, but they are not a statewide evaluation. Dorsey said the center plans to track results more closely than the earlier version did, including whether graduates stay in Virginia.
Barriers remain. Finding clinical placements can be difficult in rural areas, and some rural organizations lack staff with grant-writing experience, which is one reason Dorsey has encouraged rural high schools and long-term care facilities to apply.
Patients in rural communities are unlikely to see changes right away. The grants run two years, and training a licensed practical nurse can take up to 18 months while a registered nurse takes two to four years, so any boost to local staffing would build gradually.
For nursing students, the practical step is to ask their program whether it plans to apply or already has an Earn to Learn partnership. For organizations, the deadline is close: applications close September 30, and MedicalDaily will report on award announcements and where the money goes.
Key Questions Answered
What is Virginia's Earn to Learn program? A grant program that funds partnerships allowing nursing students to earn income in clinical roles while finishing their RN or LPN education.
How much money is available? $4.8 million, with up to 12 grants of as much as $400,000 each over two years.
Who can apply? Partnerships tied to state-approved nursing education, including colleges, universities, high schools, hospitals, and health care providers, according to Cardinal News.
When is the deadline? Applications are due September 30.
What can the money pay for? Student stipends, tuition and fees, testing fees, or faculty support, according to the Virginia Nursing Workforce Center.
Why focus on rural areas? Only about 3% of Virginia's registered nurses work in Southside and 4% in Southwest, according to state data.
Published by Medicaldaily.com
