Adams, Simpkins Win 2012 Cherokee 'A Nurse I Am' Scholarships

Duke University School of Nursing students Natalie Adams and Randi Simpkins have been selected by Cherokee Uniforms to receive the 2012 Cherokee 'A Nurse I Am' Scholarship. Adams and Simpkins, who are both enrolled in the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program at Duke, are two of ten nurse students nationwide to be awarded $2,000 toward defraying the cost of their nursing education. Selection was based on an assigned essay written in response to the inspirational nurses' film, "A Nurse I Am."

"The winning essayists represent a solid understanding of the role nurses play in America’s healthcare continuum and an awareness of what nurses can do to maintain and improve patient care despite the challenges facing the industry," said Wendell Mobley, who directs charitable and scholarship programs for Cherokee Uniforms.

The essays and photographs of the 2012 scholarship recipients are viewable on www.anurseiam.com.

The 2013 Cherokee A Nurse I Am Scholarship application period will begin in late November 2012 and will be open to students enrolled in an accredited LVN/LPN, RN degree (ADN or BSN), diploma, or RN-to-BSN program.

Cherokee Uniforms has awarded $120,000 in scholarships to nursing students since the program began in 2007. It provided a grant for the production of "A Nurse I Am," a film for nurses and nursing students, out of concern over the number of nurses leaving the profession within the first few years of practice. In the film, Emmy Award-winning director David Hoffman presents nurses in real-life situations where they interact with real patients, students, and colleagues, highlighting key points for a successful nursing career. Almost 400 nursing-education programs are showing the film to more than 39,000 students annually.

About DUSON
Duke University School of Nursing (DUSON), as a diverse community of scholars and clinicians, educates the next generation of transformational leaders in nursing, advances nursing science in issues of global import, and fosters the scholarly practice of nursing. In 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranked Duke among the top seven graduate schools of nursing in the nation. The National Institutes of Health awarded $4.3 million in research funding to DUSON (Oct.1, 2011, through Sept. 30, 2012), making it one of the top 10 nursing schools engaged with NIH-funded research in the nation. The school offers the masters, PhD, and doctor of nursing practice degrees, as well as an accelerated bachelor of science in nursing degree to students who have previously graduated from college. More than 750 students enrolled for fall 2013 classes, one of the largest enrollments in the school's 80-year history.

About Cherokee Uniforms
Cherokee Uniforms, Tooniforms and Cherokee Footwear are leading brands in healthcare apparel, recognized for helping to foster a warmer, friendlier, more comfortable environment for healthcare workers and their patients. The company recognizes the incredible value of nurses and other healthcare professionals through the inspirational nurses’ film “A Nurse I Am”, the A Nurse I Am Scholarship (www.anurseiam.com) and the Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award (www.inspiredcomfort.com), which honors and rewards exceptional service, sacrifice and innovation. Cherokee Uniforms proudly supports the DAISY Foundation, which serves the nursing profession through recognition and retention programs for nurses and grants for nursing research. For more, visit www.cherokeeuniforms.com. For timely updates and offers, Like us on Facebook – www.facebook.com/cherokeeuniforms and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/inspiredcomfort.