Nursing is among the most popular majors chosen by Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal members pursuing higher education, and the University of Oklahoma recently announced updates to programs with its Fran and Earl Ziegler College of Nursing.

One of the changes includes the addition of a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthesia track in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, which the university says comes at a time when Oklahoma faces a shortage of anesthesia providers.

“This new program will provide urgently needed nurse anesthetists for Oklahoma and is particularly important for our rural hospitals,” OU Dean of the Fran and Earl Ziegler College of Nursing Melissa Craft, Ph.D., said.

In Oklahoma, 52 counties out of 77 lack an anesthesiologist, according to the Oklahoma Board of Nursing, and CRNAs make up more than 80 percent of anesthesia providers statewide and are also the primary anesthesia professionals in 75 counties.

The OU College of Nursing says it will accept all qualified applicants to its Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.

Rachel Watson, director of CPN’s Department of Education, said nursing was the second most popular major for Tribal members during the 2023-24 school year.

“It has been in the top 10 since the department was founded,” they said, adding that before the COVID-19 pandemic, it had been the top choice of major for Tribal citizens.

Since the department began collecting data in fall of 2016, 592 students who received CPN scholarships marked nursing as their major.

For Tribal members who may be interested in pursuing a nursing degree, or any other major, the spring application window opened Nov. 15 for the CPN College and University Scholarship.

The scholarship is non-competitive and available to all Tribal members who are either taking dual-enrollment classes or are pursuing an associate’s, bachelor’s or master’s degree. Doctoral degrees are funded on a case-by-case basis. It is available for the fall, spring and summer semesters.

Full-time students are awarded $2,000, while part-time students can receive $750.

To apply, Tribal members must have a GPA of 2.5 or better on a 4-point scale, be enrolled at an accredited not-for-profit institution, provide proof of full-time or part-time enrollment, and provide a zero-balance document if they want the check in their name.

Submit applications through portal.potawatomi.org.