What are the eligibility requirements to apply for Clinical Scholars?
Each team member must:
- Be five years or more post-training and licensure in his or her chosen health profession;
- Currently work in 1 or more of the following capacities: Provider seeing patients/clients in a clinical, community, or school-based setting; Instructor/Faculty teaching trainees or students; Supervisor of providers seeing patients/clients; or Administrator with systems-level leadership role in the direction of patient care (e.g., nurse administrators); and
- Be at least 21 years old as of September of the year they are applying;
- Be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or individual granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the time of application;
- NOT be Federal, state, tribal and local government employees who are considered government officials under Section 4946 of the Internal Revenue Code; or Related by blood or marriage to any Officer or Trustee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, or be a descendant of its founder, Robert Wood Johnson.
Each team must:
- Be sponsored by an applicant organization, but can be from within the same or across different organizations, and may already work together or be newly formed;
- Consist of 3-5 team members (who all meet the individual requirements above) and represent 2 or more disciplines (e.g., a team with a dentist, social worker, and nurse); and
- Have at least one team member who has a terminal degree for practice in his or her health-related field.
Is there a list of credentials/licenses that are eligible?
- ACNP-BC (Acute Care Nurse Practitioner – Board Certified) *
- APNP (Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner)
- APRN (Advanced Practice Registered Nurse) *
- ATC/LAT (Athletic Trainer Certified/Licensed Athletic Trainer)
- AuD (Doctorate of Audiology) *
- BCBA/BCaBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst)
- BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing; requires license)
- CADC (Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor)
- CCC-A/SLP (Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology/Speech-Language Pathology) *
- CNM (Certified Nurse Midwife)
- CPN (Certified Pediatric Nurse)
- CPNP (Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner) *
- CPNP-PC (Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner-Primary Care) *
- CRC (Certified Rehabilitation Counselor)
- CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist)
- CRNP (Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner) *
- DDS (Doctor of Dental Surgery) *
- DMD (Doctor of Dental Medicine) *
- DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) *
- DO (Doctor of Osteopathy) *
- DOM (Doctor of Oriental Medicine) *
- DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy) *
- DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) *
- EMT (Emergency Medical Technician)
- FNP (Family Nurse Practitioner) *
- FNP-BC (Family Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified) *
- FNP-C (Family Nurse Practitioner-Certified) *
- LAC (Licensed Associate Counselor)
- L.Ac (Licensed Acupuncturist)
- LCSW/LCSW-C (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) *
- LISW/LICSW (Licensed and Independent Social Worker) *
- LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist) *
- LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor) *
- LMSW (Licensed Master Social Worker) *
- LN (Licensed Nutritionist) *
- LP (Licensed Psychologist) *
- LPC/LPCS (Licensed Professional Counselor) *
- LSC (Licensed School Counselor) *
- MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery; requires licensure and experience in U.S.)
- MD (Medical Doctor) *
- MPT (Master of Physical Therapy) *
- MSN (Master of Science In Nursing) *
- MSOT (Master of Science in Occupational Therapy) *
- MSSA (Master of Science in Social Administration; license required) *
- MSW (Masters in Social Work; license required) *
- NCC (National Certified Counselor)
- NP-C (Nurse Practitioner-Certified) *
- NREMT-P (Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic)
- OD (Doctor of Optometry) *
- OT (Occupational Therapist; license required) *
- OTD (Doctor of Occupational Therapy) *
- OTR/L (Licensed Occupational Therapist) *
- PA (Physician Assistant; license required) *
- PA-C (Physician Assistant-Certified) *
- PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy) *
- PhD (Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling or Psychology; license required) *
- PMHNP-BC (Psychiatric & Mental Health Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified) *
- PNP-BC (Pediatric Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified) *
- PsyD (Doctor of Psychology; license required) *
- PT (Physical Therapist) *
- RD (Registered Dietitian) *
- RDH (Registered Dental Hygienist)
- RN (Registered Nurse)
- RPA-C (Registered Physician Assistant-Certified) *
- RPT-S (Registered Play Therapist Supervisor)
- RT (Respiratory Therapist)
- VN (Veterinary Nurse)
(* indicates it is also considered a terminal degree)
What makes a team “interdisciplinary” or “interprofessional”?
To be eligible to apply for Clinical Scholars, a team must have team members from AT LEAST 2 different disciplines (or licensed health professions) beyond different specialties. Applications that have even more diversity of disciplines are typically more competitive as one of our program values is breaking silos with cross-sector collaborations.
Examples that MEET the interdisciplinary team eligibility requirement:
- A team of pharmacists, dentists, and nurses/nurse practitioners
- A team of physical therapists, veterinarians, and licensed social workers
- A team of physicians (MD, DOs) and nurses
Examples that DO NOT MEET the interdisciplinary team eligibility requirement:
- A team of all physicians (MDs, DOs) with different specialties (pediatrician, psychiatrist, internist, etc.)
- A team of nurses and nurse practitioners
- A team of counselors and therapists
What are the requirements for applicant organizations?
The applicant organization sponsoring the team must:
- Be based in the United States or its territories.
- Have the administrative and financial capacity, as well as the experience, to accept the award and to be able to distribute funds consistent with the permitted use of funds described herein, and within the approved budget. This includes having proper governance, sufficient staffing, and strong financial policies, procedures, and internal controls.
RWJF encourages applicant organizations to waive indirect costs. Organizations that include indirect costs must limit use of indirect costs to 12 percent.
Can an applicant organization submit more than one team application?
There is no limit on applications from any one applicant organization, we gladly accept multiple team applications from the same organization. However, each individual applicant could not be on more than one funded project at the same time, so we discourage individuals from applying on more than one team application.
What is the time commitment for Clinical Scholars Fellows (the 3-5 team members on application)?
If selected, all Clinical Scholars Fellows are required for the three years of the program to:
- Attend all of the in-person onsites (approximately 14 days per year)
- Participate in the ongoing distance learning (approximately 2-3 hours per week)
- Commit to the time they propose for their Wicked Problem Impact Project (WPIP)
The time spent on distance learning includes participation in webinars, training modules, executive coaching calls, team coaching calls, self-assessments, program readings, and completing program deliverables including annual reports, a WPIP poster, a WPIP presentation, a WPIP Toolkit, and a Big Idea Talk (TED-Talk style).
How is the amount of grant funding determined and how can it be used?
The grant funding is awarded based on the application’s team size:
- For teams of 3, up to $315,000 for the three years can be requested.
- For teams of 4, up to $420,000 for the three years can be requested.
- For teams of 5, up to $525,000 for the three years can be requested.
The grant funding is to be used to support the ongoing participation of all team members and others involved in the project for three years. Appropriate line items include personnel, non-personnel (supplies, travel, training, equipment), subcontracts, and indirect costs. All travel expenses for the Clinical Scholars Fellows to participate in the program’s onsite trainings are provided to fellows at no cost (per RWJF and UNC guidelines).
All grant funds will be paid to the applicant organization, which will be responsible for managing the grant budget. Recognizing that some team members may not be employees of the applicant organization, this may include subcontracts to other organizations to support the team members’ time. The applicant organization must submit required reports, and team members must demonstrate satisfactory participation and progress toward the program’s goals in order to continue receiving funding after the first year and each year thereafter.
Are alumni of the previous Clinical Scholars program (1972-2016) eligible for the new program?
Yes. Alumni and current scholars of the previous RWJF Clinical Scholars Program (1972 – 2016) are eligible for this program. The new Clinical Scholars program differs in that it is not a residency/research training program for students, but a leadership development program for licensed providers who are at least five years into their careers.
What is a “wicked problem”?
For Clinical Scholars, a wicked problem is complex health issue that is difficult or impossible to solve for many reasons. These reasons could be incomplete or contradictory knowledge, the number of people and opinions involved, the large economic burden, and the interconnected nature of these problems with other problems. Thus, a wicked problem requires interdisciplinary collaboration, perseverance, and most importantly, leadership.
The Wicked Problem Impact Project (WPIP) which Clinical Scholars Fellows receive grant funding to work on:
- Addresses a significant community or organizational problem that jeopardizes achieving a Culture of Health;
- Demonstrates evidence of community engagement in the identification of the problem and proposed solution;
- Recognizes and addresses system complexity;
- Demonstrates technical competence;
- Illustrates collaborative interdisciplinary and interprofessional partnership;
- Fosters innovation; and
- Articulates proposed measures for success, as well as alignment with the four Action Areas of RWJF’s Culture of Health Action Framework.
How many Clinical Scholars applications are received each year and how many are selected/funded?
Typically, there are about 70-90 applications submitted each year. There can be up to 35 new Clinical Scholars Fellows each year, so depending on the team sizes that means approximately 7-11 applications/teams are selected.
What is the role of team leader for an application for Clinical Scholars?
The team leader can be any of the 3-5 team members on the application. This is the person responsible for overseeing the project. This person will be the primary recipient of all key Foundation correspondence: copy of award notice, post-award financial and monitoring, and grant closure. Additionally, this person may be contacted after the submission deadline by SSRS, an independent research firm. RWJF will share this person’s contact information, including email address, with SSRS for the sole purpose of soliciting feedback.