Bureau of Health Workforce

Program funds are used to increase enrollment in nursing programs, expand nursing practice to improve access to primary health care in medically underserved communities, and support efforts to promote the retention of nurses in the workforce.[4]

HRSA supports projects that enhance advanced nursing education and practice. This program encourages individuals to serve as nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse midwives, nurse anesthetists, nurse educators, nurse administrators or public health nurses.[5]

To increase nursing education opportunities for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, the program provides stipends and scholarships, pre-entry preparation, and retention activities for minority nursing students, pre-nursing students, and students in elementary and secondary schools.[6]

The program is designed to increase the number of individuals from educationally and economically disadvantaged backgrounds who are studying and working in the health and allied health professions. This program also provides support needed to compete, enter, and graduate from health or allied health professions’ schools, graduate programs in behavior and mental health, and programs to train physician assistants.[7]

The Centers of Excellence Program provides grants to health professional schools to support educational programs of excellence for underrepresented minority students. These programs strengthen our national capacity to train minority students in health professions.[8]

HRSA provides funds to individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to improve their education and graduation rates and improve their ranks in the health professions.[9]

HRSA provides grants to institutions to expand the knowledge base of health professionals and support their continuing education. These funds also support students and faculty in programs designed to increase the number of nurses, pediatricians and primary care providers.

Main article: Area Health Education Centers Program

HRSA supports a network of more than 200 community-based training sites in 47 states and the District of Columbia that provide educational services to students, faculty and practitioners in underserved areas with the aim of increasing the supply of qualified providers in those communities.[10]

Through Geriatric Education Centers, HRSA helps educate and train health professional faculty, students and practitioners in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease, disability and other health problems of the aged.[11]

The Public Health Training Centers Program strengthens the workforce by providing fundamental training in the core competencies of public health.[12]

The Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education Payment Program provides federal support for direct and indirect graduate medical education of interns and residents in freestanding children’s teaching hospitals.[13]

for primary care medical, dental, and mental and behavioral health clinicians;[14]

for primary care medical and dental providers-in-training;[15]

for registered nurses and RN students;[16]

for health professions faculty from disadvantaged backgrounds;[17]

Accredited schools of dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, podiatric medicine and veterinary medicine are eligible.[18]

Accredited schools of allopathic or osteopathic medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, podiatric medicine and veterinary medicine are eligible.[19]

Accredited schools leading to a diploma, associate, baccalaureate or graduate degree in nursing are eligible.[20]

Accredited schools of allopathic and osteopathic medicine are eligible for this program which requires loan recipients to serve in primary care.[21]

The National Practitioner Data Bank is a clearinghouse that provides information to eligible organizations about malpractice payments, adverse licensure, clinical privilege, and other negative actions taken against health care practitioners and entities.[22]

The Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank was merged into the National Practitioner Data Bank as of May 6, 2013, in accordance with 78 FR 20473.[23]