Residency & Fellowship Programs
NP Residency and Fellowship
Programs: Gaining Momentum
THE FORMATION OF RESIDENCY AND FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMS for NPs in the United
States is slowly but steadily gaining momentum. Although postgraduate pro-
grams remain relatively few, they are becoming more common, especially in
community settings. Furthermore, these programs are somewhat controversial,
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as there are calls from some entities in healthcare to make residency programs
mandatory for new NPs.
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Program Goals
Residency and fellowship programs provide intensive training for both new and
clinically experienced NPs. These full-time, structured, formal postgraduate pro-
grams are designed to help new NPs make a smooth, successful transition from
student to clinical practice, or to facilitate the transition of practicing NPs to a
new clinical area. New NPs who want additional clinical education before enter-
ing practice, and who are accepted to a program, have the opportunity to com-
plete a 6- to 12-month residency prior to taking their first job. Fellowships are an
avenue for practicing NPs who want to change disciplines or career paths, as
well as for new NPs who want to follow a career path in a subspecialty area.
Another primary goal of these programs is to increase the number of NPs
practicing in specific clinical settings or specialty areas. In fact, the first NP
residency program, started in 2007 by Margaret Flinter, PhD, APRN, C-FNP, at
Community Health Centers (CHC), Inc. in Connecticut, was created not only
to ease new NPs' transition to practice, but also to increase the number of
family NPs in the high-intensity practice site of a federally qualified health
center (FQHC).
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Areas of Growth
The CHC family NP residency program began with four NP residents and cur-
rently has 10 family NPs over the course of a 12-month residency. Health centers
such as CHC are one area where NP residencies are expected to grow. CHC is a
FQHC; as such, they receive federal funding to provide comprehensive primary
care to underserved or vulnerable populations. The Affordable Care Act of 2010
Inside
Residency & Fellowship
Programs ........................... 1
Certification Q&A; ............. 5
Review Courses ............... 8
Contraceptive Pearls ....... 9
News Briefs ..................... 11
Memorial ........................ 22
2015 Live Courses
Clinical Update
(2-day course)
NP Essentials Skills and
Workshop
(4- or 2-day courses)
Pharmacology Update
(2-day course)
The Art of Wound Repair
(1-day course)
NP Certification
Exam Review
Course Tracks
Family, Adult-Gerontology,
and Adult Primary Care
Acute Care, Adult-
Gerontology Acute Care
Pediatric Primary Care
Psychiatric & Mental
Health
Women's Health
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Fitzgerald Health Education Associates
f hea.com Committed to the success of nurse practitioners
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Fitzgerald Health Education Associates, Inc. 978•794•8366 Volume 15, Issue 1, January 2015