Eligibility & Selection Process

HomeProspective ApplicantsEligibility & Selection Process

Executive Nurse fellowships are open to nurses who currently hold senior leadership positions in health services, scientific and academic organizations, public health and community-based organizations or systems, and national professional, governmental and policy organizations.

Applicants must be citizens of the United States or its territories or have permanent residency status.

In addition, applicants must have the support of their employing organization to engage fully in all curricular, action-learning and leadership project components of the program.

We are committed to recruiting qualified nurses who want to become part of a program that cultivates a diverse and inclusive learning and research environment. We embrace racial, ethnic, gender and disciplinary diversity, and we encourage candidates with diverse backgrounds to apply to the RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows program. Our application and review processes help to ensure that all qualified candidates are given an equal opportunity to compete for grant opportunities within our program.

Our goal is to create a rich intellectual, cultural and mentoring environment to ensure that our fellows reach their full potential. We recognize that a variety of experiences, backgrounds and ideas enriches our organization and encourages creativity and innovation.

We will select applicants to the RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows program based on the following criteria:

  • A strong professional record that reflects positions of increasing leadership responsibility and the potential to achieve higher levels of leadership effectiveness.
  • Vision, passion and capability to make a substantial impact on health and health care.
  • Insight, courage and evidence of a commitment to lifelong growth and development.
  • Capacity and willingness to learn in collaboration with other Executive Nurse Fellows through action, reflection, feedback and support.
  • Commitment (from the employing organization and individual) for the fellow's continuing employment and active engagement in three consecutive years of structured learning, self-study and project activity.

The NPO will screen applications and forward those that meet the selection criteria to the national advisory committee (NAC) for review. The NAC conducts face-to-face interviews with semi-finalists and then makes recommendations to the Foundation. RWJF reviews the NAC recommendations and makes final decisions.