Publications & Presentations

FROM NEW NURSE PRACTITIONER TO PRIMARY CARE PROVIDER: BRIDGING THE TRANSITION THROUGH FQHC-BASED RESIDENCY TRAINING

Margaret Flinter, APRN, MSN, PhD

ABSTRACT:
Community Health Center, Inc. (CHCI), a multi-site, federally qualified, health center (FQHC) in Connecticut, implemented a one-year-residency program for new nurse practitioners (NPs) in 2007. This residency program is specifically designed for family nurse practitioners intending to practice as primary care providers in federally qualified health centers. These centers comprise the nation's largest safety net setting; they are commonly referred to as community health centers. Supported in part by the Health Resources Service Administration, health centers are private nonprofit or public organizations serving populations with limited access to healthcare. They are located in designated, high need communities; governed by patient-majority boards of directors; and provide comprehensive, primary healthcare services. The author begins by reviewing the background and context for a nurse practitioner residency program, the importance of NP residency programs, and the recruitment and selection of NP residents. She explains how the residents are trained to a model of care and the content of care. She furthers the discussion by addressing program evaluation and outcomes and costs. Implications for national health policy, clinical practice, and nursing and areas for further research are presented. This article is timely in light of recent recommendations in the Institute of Medicine's 2010 report on the future of nursing recommending the development of residency programs for new, advanced practice registered nurses.

RESIDENCY PROGRAMS FOR PRIMARY CARE NURSE PRACTITIONERS IN FEDERALLY QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTERS: A SERVICE PERSPECTIVE

Margaret Flinter, APRN, MSN, PhD

ABSTRACT:
A number of social forces are converging to shape the coming health care and professional practice environment for nurse practitioners (NPs) and the public they serve.

Two major innovations of the 1960s, NPs and community health centers, have reached their fourth decade since their inception. These forces have traveled parallel and overlapping paths in their mission to provide high quality health care. Today the current federally qualified community health centers (FQHCs) are a major component of the nation's safety net for the medically underserved, special populations, and the uninsured throughout the United States. Nurse practitioners in the FQHC settings are responsible for highly complex care across lifecycles, with a focus on the treatment and management of disease along with prevention and health promotion. The author suggests that FQHC-based formal residency programs in primary care at either the post-master's or post-doctoral level are the next step in the evolution of both FQHCs and NP preparation. Possible funding mechanisms through changes in federal graduate medical education legislation are explored.

"SARAH FAITH'S NP RESIDENCY PRESENTAION AT THE 25TH NATIONAL AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS CONFERENCE"

NP RESIDENCY PRESENTATION AT CAPITAL HILL BRIEFING, MAY, 2009.

COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, INC.'S NURSE PRACTITIONER TRAINING PROGRAM TO BE REPLICATED UNDER NATIONAL HEALTH REFORM LEGISLATION.

CAPITOL HILL GETS BRIEFED ON NPS IN FQHCS

THE FIRST NP RESIDENCY PROGRAM