Nurse Scholars Program

Independence Blue Cross (IBC) recognizes that nurses are critical to the health care delivery system, and that the shortage of nurses and nurse educators threatens the accessibility of quality and affordable health care that our members rely on us to provide.

Our Mission

In 2004, IBC created the Nurse Scholars Program to increase the current supply of nurses and nurse educators in our region and to provide long-term solutions that alleviate the root causes of the shortage.

The program addresses the well-documented shortage of nurses and nurse educators in southeastern Pennsylvania by:

• providing scholarships to nursing students at accredited graduate and undergraduate nursing school programs in the five county area;
• developing companion initiatives to further support students, faculty, and the nursing profession, namely:
  • The IBC Nurse Faculty Program
  • The IBC Nursing Internship Program

In partnership with the Pennsylvania Higher Education Foundation, IBC has dedicated $10.75 million through 2010 to the Nurse Scholars Program and its companion initiatives.

To date, the Nurse Scholars Program has awarded $8.5 million for more than 3,000 scholarships at 31 accredited nursing programs in southeastern Pennsylvania.

To learn more about this nationally-recognized program download the Nurse Scholars Program fact sheet.

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