DePaul Community Health Centers (DCHC) recently launched a postgraduate family nurse practitioner residency training program designed to provide intensive training in both the clinical complexity of family practice in the safety net setting and training in the patient centered medical home model for primary care.
The residency is a 12-month, full-time position with a one-year post-program employment commitment. The deadline to apply is Sept. 1, 2023. Four residency slots are available for the inaugural 2023-24 program class.
“We are thrilled to launch this important program. It will equip new family nurse practitioners with the skills they need to care for underserved populations and assume future leadership roles in community healthcare,” said Robert Post, MD, DCHC’s chief medical officer.
The primary goals of this program include:
· Increase access to quality primary care for underserved, rural, and special populations
· Provide new family nurse practitioners with a depth, breadth, volume, and intensity of clinical training necessary to serve as primary care providers in the complex setting of the country’s Federally Qualified Health Centers
· Improve the skills, confidence, productivity, and job satisfaction of new nurse practitioners, specifically in a safety net setting
· Increase the number of nurse practitioners ready to serve in leadership roles in community health centers
The residency program led by Program Director Tanya Theriault, APRN, NP, is specifically intended for new family nurse practitioners who are committed to developing careers as primary care providers in the challenging setting of community health centers and other safety net settings.
“The program includes precepted primary care sessions, specialty rotations, mentored independent clinics, weekly didactic sessions, and participation in Project ECHO and quality improvement training,” said Theriault.