Scholarship Descriptions

The following are the descriptions of the available CAWC scholarships. For clarification or discussion of any of the following, you may contact the CAWC by e-mail at info@cawc.net

Nature of the Scholarship Benefits
The Scholarship Benefits are grants, which will be dispersed by the Scholarship Committee. This committee will be made up of a Committee Chair and a select group of Scholarship Committee members elected on a two-year term. The grants may be used by members of the CAWC only to finance research projects in the field of wound care or to finance study in approved courses on wound care and related fields or in some cases to attend conferences and/or educational programs. The CAWC and CAWC Corporate Members have funded these scholarships.

Note: With the exception of applicants for the International Award, all applicants must be current CAWC members (membership information) and Canadian citizens.

Amount of Each Scholarship Benefit
Maximum $2500 Canadian per scholarship per year. The Scholarship Committee will determine the total amount awarded per scholarship each year.

Description of Scholarships

• Dr. Warren L. Rottman Education Scholarship sponsored by 3M Canada Inc. For health-care professionals looking to increase their knowledge in the field of wound care through a post diploma course at either a recognized college- or university-affiliated program. The scholarship may also be used to attend a recognized wound-care convention such as CAWC, SAWC, WOCN, CAET, or a conference taking place overseas. This scholarship is not available to industry representatives, associates or consultants thereof.

• The Mölnlycke Health Care Educational Scholarship sponsored by Mölnlycke Health Care. The intent of the Mölnlycke Health Care Educational Scholarship is to support health-care professionals with educational initiatives geared to increasing their knowledge and competency in the field of wound care and advancing wound care best practice across the educational and health-care spectrum. It is open to nursing professionals pursuing studies at the doctorate level at a recognized Canadian university. Preference will be given to applicants pursuing work in a wound care related discipline. Applicants may re-apply on an annual basis for each year of study at the doctoral level. This scholarship is limited to citizens and permanent residents of Canada and is not available to industry representatives, associates or consultants thereof.

• The Cathy Harley Educational Grant in Memory of Aldora Harder and Cathy Foster sponsored by the Canadian Association of Wound Care. Up to $2500 will be awarded to a health-care professional to increase their knowledge in the field of advanced wound-care practice in Canada. This scholarship will be put toward tuition and/or associated costs such as transportation and lodging for a health care professional to attend the University of Toronto International Interdisciplinary Wound Care Course and will be awarded to a different individual each year. This scholarship is not available to industry representatives, associates or consultants thereof.

In 1995, Cathy Harley co-founded the first Canadian Symposium on Wound Management with R.Gary Sibbald and launched this first program to an audience of 650 health-care professionals with an interest in wound care. This event has grown over a decade to become the largest Canadian annual wound-care educational meeting. This scholarship is dedicated to two women who participated in the first CAWC conference: Aldora Harder, a nurse who helped to put moist wound healing on the map in Canada, and Cathy Foster, former president of the Canadian Association for Enterostomal Therapy Nursing, both of whom succumbed to cancer in the year 2000.

• The Elise Sørensen RN Memorial Scholarship sponsored by Coloplast. For Registered Nurses seeking advanced expertise in the field of wound care and skin care. Post diploma courses, programs at either a recognized college, or affiliated university are eligible. The scholarship may also be used in whole or in part, to attend a recognized Canadian wound care conference such as CAWC, CAET or other North American conference such as the SAWC.

Visiting nurse Elise Sørensen (1903-1977) invented the modern ostomy bag. She developed an appliance without the drawbacks of traditional bags. The bag was revolutionary because it was provided with an adhesive allowing it to adhere directly to the skin around the stoma. Elise Sørensen contacted Coloplast's founder, Aage Louis-Hansen, to show him her concept, and he began manufacturing the bag in 1955, having first signed a licence agreement with Elise Sørensen. Elise Sørensen was appointed Nurse of the Year by the Danish Nursing Council in 1963.

“I have always felt compassion with the people who had to have a stoma. The fear of not being able to control your own intestinal has made many people live their life in a different way—simply because they didn’t dare to live the normal life they had before. And in the case of my sister, I felt, that if I couldn’t help her somehow, she would break down. This led to my experiments with the ostomy bag.” — Elise Sørensen in Journal for Nurses, 1955

• The Heather L. Orsted Scholarship for Team Development. The scholarship is for an interdisciplinary team (representing two or more disciplines) that has applied to attend and complete the International Interdisciplinary Wound Care Course. This scholarship can be put toward tuition and/or associated costs such as transportation and lodging for a health-care professional (or more than one) to attend the University of Toronto International Interdisciplinary Wound Care Course and will be awarded to a different team each year.

• The T.J. Smith Global Wound Academy Award, sponsored by Smith & Nephew. For Healthcare Professionals seeking advanced expertise and the development of Best Practices in the field of wound care and skin care. This will be through a post-graduate diploma course or program at either a recognized college or affiliated university. The scholarship may also be used in whole or in part to attend a recognized Canadian wound-care conference such as CAWC, CAET or other international wound-related conferences. This scholarship is not available to industry representatives, associates or consultants thereof.

• The ConvaTec Scholarship for Advancing Wound Care Education sponsored by ConvaTec is awarded to a health-care professional dedicated to furthering wound-care education.

• Dr. Louis C. Argenta Best Practices and Wound Care Team Grant sponsored by KCI Medical Canada, Inc. is dedicated to advancing wound care knowledge and practice in Canada through a team approach. This scholarship is offered in honour of the break-through research that Dr. Argenta has demonstrated in the area of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy and its application in wound care, which has helped improve so many patients’ lives. This scholarship is intended to support health care professionals in the development of specialized wound care knowledge and practice and the sharing of best practices within a wound care team. This is available to a selected candidate who is a registered member of the CAWC. The scholarship is not available to industry representatives, associates or consultants thereof.

• The R. Gary Sibbald International Scholarship is designed to foster networking and mentoring between the Canadian Association of Wound Care and wound-care professionals in developing countries. The value of the scholarship is $2500 toward attendance at the Canadian Association of Wound Care annual meeting. Every attempt will be made to arrange preceptorships or additional clinical experience around the time of the meeting if requested by the successful candidate. Note: This is the only scholarship for which the applicant is not required to be a member of the CAWC.

• Research Scholarship sponsored by the CAWC. For first-time applicants whose research projects directly relate to wound care. Priority will be given to clinicians and researchers with wound-care experience. Funds will be distributed to the individual as opposed to the project and must be allocated by the affiliated hospital, agency or university. This scholarship is renewable if an application is made within six months of start date.

• The Healthpoint Research Scholarship sponsored by Healthpoint Canada. This scholarship will provide the researcher with the opportunity to develop/continue a project evaluating the effectiveness of advanced wound-care practices within the clinical environment.

For further information, please e-mail us at info@cawc.net.

Please contact us at: info@cawc.net.