Leadership Scholarships

Important Dates: 

Applications Open: March 15, 2025
Applications Due: September 15, 2025

Awards: Up to $3,000 to attend a leadership nursing continuing professional development program held either virtually or in person. Funds are for program registration only. 

Purpose: To support a registered nurse, working in oncology, interested in developing their leadership skills to improve cancer care by attending a leadership continuing education program. 

Selection Criteria:

• The applicant must be a registered nurse currently working in oncology.  There is no set number of years in oncology or academic degree, required for this scholarship.
• Those wishing to be considered for the ONCC Emerging Leaders Scholarship must currently hold an ONCC certification, have less than 2 years of experience in a leadership role, and show interest in being a contributor in the workplace, local chapter, ONCC, or other opportunities when available.
• The leadership course selected by the applicant must be for nursing continuing professional development and cannot be used for credits toward an academic degree.
• The leadership course is up to the discretion of the applicant and can be outside of nursing, (i.e., business or leadership/management). However, the course cannot be a component of a more extensive non-leadership course/course (i.e. ONS Congress track).
• Course content must focus on important leadership skills the applicant hopes to enhance (ex: collaboration, social intelligence, interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, conflict management, decision-making, etc.).
  • The Oncology Nursing Foundation does not endorse or recommend any specific courses. Various programs are available to meet a nurse's leadership educational needs, an example of a few are the AONL Leadership Lab; Emerging Leader Institute; Developing the Leader Within; Personal Resilience for Leaders; Leadership Development for Nurse Managers; Nurse Manager Institute, Wharton Nursing Leaders Program, the leadership development program at the Institute for Johns Hopkins Nursing, Duke Nurse Leadership Program, ANA Leadership, and Excellence programs, and other proposed leadership programs not listed.

 Points to Consider:

• Do not wait until the last day to start an application as a quality and competitive application will take time to complete.
• We suggest that you use your time wisely by getting a head start and collecting any additional required items such as the name and email address of someone writing your letter of recommendation before you begin.
• Your essay responses should be of good quality, in terms of grammar, punctuation, syntax, conciseness, and ability to answer the question. Ensure you submit a detailed response and use the word count to your advantage. 
• To strengthen your application, use free online tools such as Grammarly and have someone read over your application to ensure accurate spelling, punctuation, and grammar.