The Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care will provide 110 scholarships through the new Commonwealth Undergraduate Remote and Rural Nursing Scholarship (CURRNS) scheme.

Applicants will be eligible for $10 000 financial assistance each year, to a maximum of 
$30 000, with ten scholarships earmarked for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander applicants.

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Dean of the Faculty of Health Studies, Professor David Battersby, said the scheme addresses important issues for the nursing workforce and is a positive step for enticing qualified health professionals to areas where they are most needed.

He said CSU is well placed to benefit from the initiative, with the University increasing undergraduate nursing places and introducing new nursing courses at the Dubbo and Albury-Wodonga Campuses, while continuing with long-established courses on the Bathurst and Wagga Wagga Campuses.

“The University maintains an active focus on nursing issues in rural and remote areas and offers students many opportunities to undertake clinical placements in these areas,” he said.

“We have an active research profile in rural and remote nursing and many CSU nursing academic staff have had practical and clinical experience in health care in rural and remote areas.”

Scholarship applications close on Friday 26 October and are open to full-time on campus or distance education students, with preference given to students who study at a rural university. Further information is available from the Royal College of Nursing Australia on 1800 061 660 or at the nursing college website.