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The nursing honor society Sigma Theta Tau International has announced plans to launch a pilot program aimed at preparing R.N.s to transition into nurse faculty roles, Nurse.com reports. Supported by a $200,000 grant from the Elsevier Foundation, a publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, the society will use the funding to launch the pilot Nurse Faculty Mentored Leadership Development Program. The initiative will be administered by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International's Leadership Institute. Under the 18-month program, novice nurses who hold masters or doctoral degrees or who are enrolled in a doctoral program can apply for one of 16 faculty scholar positions. As part of the application, the nurses must identify a potential mentor willing to serve as a role model or coach throughout the program. To ensure the mentor can provide an outside perspective on any issues and problems, he or she must not work at the same institution as the scholar. During the program, scholars, mentors and expert faculty will meet online and talk via phone to discuss the mentorship; create an individualized progression plan for the scholar; and perform the planning, implementation and evaluation of an educational project that will focus on innovative strategies to improve the student learning process. Results of the projects are expected to be published in journal articles and presentations at various events. According to Sigma Theta Tau research, faculty who have worked successfully with a mentor have higher job satisfaction and are more likely to be promoted and have more mobility than their peers who did not have mentorship (Anscombe Wood, Nurse.com, 9/7/09).