News Releases

University of Maryland School of Nursing Assistant Professor Named RWJF Health Policy Fellow

September 26, 2014

Fellows will spend a year in Washington, DC participating in the federal health policy process.

Baltimore, Md. – Marian Grant, DNP, RN, CRNP, assistant professor, University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON), has been named a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Health Policy Fellow. Seven health professionals from across the country were selected to participate in the program, beginning this fall.

RWJF’s Health Policy Fellow program offers exceptional midcareer health professionals an opportunity to actively participate in the health policy process at the federal level. Each year, fellows are selected through a highly-competitive selection process to leave their campus or workplace to spend a year in Washington, D.C.  More than 250 fellows from a variety of disciplines in health and health care from across the nation have participated in the program since its inception in 1973.

“This fellowship is considered one of the most prestigious in the nation and attracts extraordinarily talented health professionals from across the country. We are proud of Dr. Grant for standing out from a highly-competitive pool of applicants,” said UMSON Dean Jane M. Kirschling, PhD, RN, FAAN.  “I know that she will use this experience to help nurses gain a much-needed voice in health policy, while serving as a strong ambassador for the School of Nursing and the nursing profession.”       

For the first three months, fellows participate in an orientation program, which is followed by a nine-month assignment working with a congressional office or executive branch of the government. Work assignments are supplemented throughout the year with health policy leadership development activities and media training.  After completing the program, fellows return to the field where they are expected to put new networks and their health policy leadership skills into practice.

"I am honored to have been given an opportunity to participate in this fellowship. The voice of nurses often go unheard in today’s health care debate, so I hope to develop the skills necessary to represent them to policy leaders,” Grant said. “As a nurse practitioner certified in palliative care and hospice, I also hope to increase awareness and access to these important types of care.”

# # #

The University of Maryland School of Nursing, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest nursing schools, and is ranked eleventh nationally Enrolling more than 1,700 students in its baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders who shape the profession of nursing and impact the health care environment.