The American Nurses Credentialing Center has sponsored research grants to scholars investigating the relationship of credentialing in nursing to quality outcomes in health care since 2002. Beginning in 2009, proposals for the Margretta Madden Styles Credentialing Scholars Grant should be submitted to the American Nurses Foundation Research Grants program. Download the Research Grants Application at the American Nurses Foundation's website.

The purpose of the Margretta Madden Styles Credentialing Scholars Grants Program is to stimulate and support research on the impact of credentialing processes in nursing for consumers, healthcare employers and employees, policymakers, nurses, and the nursing profession. Credentialing research in nursing is needed to address many questions. This broad topic, which encompasses credentialing via licensure, certification, accreditation, and other formal recognition programs, provides numerous opportunities for scholarly inquiry. For example, studies are needed to examine how credentialing standards and credentialing processes link to nursing competence, professional practice, patient satisfaction, patient care and safety, and the overall success of healthcare providers and organizations in meeting their goals for protecting the public.

See previous grant recipients and their proposal abstracts.