Stephanie Jorgensen, who holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Nursing from Molloy University, has been selected to be part of the 2023-2025 cohort of Jonas-Flynn Oncology Nurse DNP Scholars.
Jorgensen graduated from Molloy with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2017, and a Master of Science in Nursing in 2022. She is one of only five Jonas-Flynn scholarship recipients this year. The $30,000 award will cover her tuition in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., beginning this fall.
The native of Bay Shore, L.I., said she “loved my education at Molloy because there were so many opportunities.” She cited experiences in the classroom and in clinical roles, the University’s “great partnership with hospitals,” as well as participation in clubs and organizations such as the Molloy Student Nursing Association.
“I was able to grow professionally because of the opportunities Molloy gave me, and because of the caring professors who want their students to succeed. My time at Molloy helped to shape me into the nurse I am today,” she said.
She noted the time she spent learning and growing at the Barbara H. Hagan School of Nursing and Health Sciences on campus. “They put a lot of heart into that building,” she explained. “The learning skills I developed within that building helped shape my career. As a nursing student it is the one place you can go to find the answers to your questions.”
Jorgensen, 28, now lives in New Jersey. She said that pursuing her DNP will allow her “to advance my knowledge of nursing at the doctorate level and then apply it to the field I am now in.” Her current role is as a pediatric nurse practitioner at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, where her specialty is pediatric neuro-oncology and solid tumor.
Even as an undergraduate, Jorgensen said she was on the lookout for internships and other learning programs, a trait she continues to practice at Rutgers.
She first became acquainted with the Susan D. Flynn Oncology Nursing Fellowship when she received the honor as a junior. The fellowship led to a position as a pediatric hematology oncology nurse at New York-Presbyterian Hospital for nearly six years.
When she was applying to be a Jonas-Flynn Scholar, one of the questions on the application focused on why she wanted to pursue a doctorate in nursing practice. “I want to take my oncology nursing education and share with others. I am also interested in performing nursing research within pediatric oncology, so patients could have better outcomes,” she said.
She also explained the impact that the Flynn scholarship had on her nursing education.
“It provided me with a more in-depth look into the oncology field and specific training related to oncology nursing. Pediatric oncology is such a small field…to have training and expertise in that made me more passionate about helping kids with cancer and providing good nursing care to them,” she said.
“How nurses practice does make a difference in treatment and can potentially impact how well the patients are doing.”
The DNP scholarship program is jointly funded by Jonas Philanthropies and the Flynn Foundation. To date, 14 Jonas-Flynn scholarships totaling $380,000 have been awarded.
The Flynn Foundation was established by Frederick C. Flynn in memory of his wife, Susan, who died of ovarian cancer in 2013. Developed out of respect for the high quality of nursing and palliative care she received during her illness, the program seeks to stimulate career interest and foster professional development of oncology nurses.
Flynn, in a news release, said the Flynn Foundation was “grateful for this unique collaborative opportunity” with Jonas Philanthropies “to continue our support of oncology nursing clinical practice and research in order to improve the prevention, treatment and quality of life outcomes for cancer patients and their families.”
Jorgensen looks forward to beginning her doctoral studies and research. “I love the field I am in, and I think it was meant for me,” she said. “I want to continue that at a doctoral level and potentially do research, educate others about the pediatric oncology field, and gain knowledge and expertise.”
She expressed her thanks, especially to Mr. Flynn and to Molloy University, “for offering such amazing opportunities that have changed nursing practice and have made a positive impact on the scholar recipients’ lives. Mr. Flynn is doing great work in memory of his wife, Susan Flynn.”