Education Is Key to Income & Job Retention
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans with more education earn more and have a lower rate of unemployment than those who have less education.
How many of your patients have limited education? How many might consider pursuing more education if they knew there might be funds to help them do this? Several times each year, social workers post requests for information about scholarships or grants for patients to the Council of Nephrology Social Workers’ (CNSW) email listserv. Some have asked if there are scholarships for children or family members of patients.
Listed below are some sources of scholarships and grants. A few organizations accept applications from people in any state; most are limited to a certain geographic area. Contact the organization to learn more about their rules regarding eligibility, deadlines for applications, etc.
| Funding Source | Amount | Who Can Apply |
|---|---|---|
Covelli Family Achievement Award Kidney & Urology Foundation of America 800-633-6628 |
$500 | National scholarship Ages 6-18 with kidney or urologic disease, improved grades to good or excellent |
New Day Education and Rehabilitation Award Kidney & Urology Foundation of America 800-633-6628 |
Up to $1,000/year renewable up to 4 years | National scholarship Ages 25 and up with kidney or urologic disease seeking degree, certification, a new job skill, change careers, or get physical rehabilitation |
Vincent Stefano Scholarship Award Kidney & Urology Foundation of America 800-633-6628 |
Up to $2000/year renewable up to 4 years | National scholarship Ages 17-25 with kidney or urologic disease pursuing college degree |
Peter and Bruce Bidstrup Memorial Scholarship National Kidney Foundation of Arizona 602-840-1644 |
Contact organization for more information | Arizona resident who is on dialysis or has a kidney transplant |
Kidney Dialysis/Transplant Association Scholarship 781 641-4000 |
Contact organization for more information | New England resident related to kidney patient or donor |
|
National Kidney Foundation of Indiana 317-722-5640 |
Contact organization for more information | Indiana resident who is has chronic kidney disease or is on dialysis, or has a kidney transplant |
|
National Kidney Foundation serving Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma 800-596-7943 |
One $1000 scholarship annually per state | Kansas and Missouri residents on dialysis or with kidney transplant |
Carolyn Wilson Dialysis Patient Scholarship Program American Kidney Fund |
Contact organization for more information | Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma residents on dialysis on with kidney transplants for education or vocational training |
Joseph G. Martino Scholarship Award National Kidney Foundation - Serving Upstate & Western New York 585-598-3963 ext. 373 |
Two $500 scholarships as a one-time grant award—one to a graduating high school senior and one to adult | Resident of these New York counties: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming, or Yates who is on dialysis or has a kidney transplant |
Federal Grants U.S. Department of Education |
Review each of the links for more information | No kidney diagnosis required This U.S. Department of Education (ED) offers a variety of federal grants to students attending four-year colleges or universities, community colleges, and career schools. |
Finding and Applying for Scholarships U.S. Department of Education |
Review the links on the site | No kidney diagnosis required This U.S. Department of Education website answers frequently asked questions about applying for scholarships, information on loans and work study jobs and avoiding scams |
Please share this information with your patients. Knowing there are resources to help with education or job training may encourage them to examine these options. If they do, they may find that their life is more rewarding socially, emotionally and financially.
Comments
Beth Witten
Mar 11, 2017 4:07 PM
Mel Hodge
Mar 10, 2017 7:35 PM
I would like to add that 'what' you study may be almost as important as the degree you attain. Too many people invest years of their lives and thousands of dollars to attain their degree... and then find out no employer seems to want them. For example, there is an army of Ph.D's in the humanities whose degrees didn't come from Harvard or Stanford who can find nothing more than "temp" jobs in their chosen field with no job security, paying little more than McDonalds and often required to move semester to semester from college to college as migrant workers. In contrast, a Ph.D. (or even a BS) in computer science is likely to be a key to the mint,
Fortunately, for most occupations outside of academia where an elite degree is a required "union card," the importance of where and what you studied or your degree level gradually fades once you are permanently employed. What you demonstrate you can do on the job ultimately will count for far more than your academic history.
But the key words are "...once you are permanently employed." Landing your first job will depend heavily on not being screened out based on your resume. I spent a few years of my checkered career responsible for hiring for an R&D organization that went from 100 to 7,000, recruited on 50 campuses and in as many cities. During that time i never saw a hiring requisition specifying someone trained in Chinese history or gender studies. Most were for science or engineering at various degree levels, but more than a few were for things like excellent writing skills or accounting.
If you are considering Beth's wise advice to go back to school... and your goal is employment, my advice is to work the problem backwards. Once you have in mind a field of study and the degree you would like to seek, search the on-line job boards on the web for the geographical area you prefer. Look for "fits" with your educational plan -- are there many... or are they few and far between? Seek meetings (or at least phone conversations) with placement officers at schools your considering to find out what recruiters visiting their campuses are seeking; maybe you'll find some employment representatives at places you might like to work willing to talk to you (most people love to give advice).
Hopefully, this "homework" winds up exciting you and motivating you to charge ahead toward your educational goal. But if it doesn't and you wind up a bit discouraged, its better now rather than after you've made the investment. You've lost little time and no money -- just revise your plan as you find necessary to better fit your interests and talents with the reality of the employment world. The effort will likely be worth it...