New Feature: Program Spotlight

APGAP Program Spotlight

We’re excited to introduce “Program Spotlight” which is a new feature meant to give a more in-depth and inspirational look into Advanced Practice Provider Residencies and Fellowships around the country. We’d like to spotlight a different program each month, so if you’re interested, please send a message through the website to Radha Denmark.

Program Spotlight, April 2018

Magnolia Regional Health Care Emergency Nurse Practitioner Fellowship

Tell us a little about your program.

The first Emergency Nurse Practitioner (ENP) Fellowship in the State of Mississippi, Magnolia Regional Health Center (MRHC) is striving to improve the transition from academics to practice while improving patient care and accessibility to healthcare in rural areas.  Developed by a team of frontline providers including board-certified emergency NPs and physicians, the program includes didactic education, simulation, journal club and direct patient care. The comprehensive 12-month ENP fellowship provides licensed advanced practice providers (APPs) the opportunity to acquire further skill, knowledge, experience, and professional behaviors needed to deliver high-quality care in the emergency setting while meeting competency standards outlined by the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners. In conjunction with MRHC’s Graduate Medical Education Department, fellows will engage in interprofessional education to promote future collaborations. Upon completion of the fellowship program, the NP will be eligible to sit for the ENP board certification examination offered by AANP-CB.

What needs does your program meet in terms of the fellows, the patients they serve, and the overall health care system?

MRHC’s ENP Fellowship program assists in bridging the educational and experience gap faced by NPs new to specialty practice.  Currently, there are no academic or emergency fellowship programs in Mississippi. NPs depend heavily upon on-the-job training.  The fellowship program allows for additional supervised hands-on experiences and facilitates high quality and functioning NPs into practice in the emergency setting.  The program aims to improve the health of the communities we serve through postgraduate education and clinical experience of APPs. Fellowship programs prove to have a high ROI with graduates having increased job satisfaction, performance, and retention. Fellows enter practice with the confidence and competence needed in the highly specialized world of emergency medicine.  The ENP fellowship program also increases the availability of highly qualified, and board certified ENPs in the communities we serve.

What makes your program unique in comparison to others?

The MRHC’s ENP Fellowship differs from most programs because of its rural setting.  With limited availability of physicians, many ENPs find they are the sole provider in an emergency department.  These individuals must provide patient care in some cases for which they have no prior experience. In a fast-paced emergency department with high acuity patients, the fellows will work along with board certified ENPs and Emergency Medicine physicians obtaining the needed hands-on experience.  In this environment, fellows gain valuable experience under the guidance of seasoned professionals. In addition, the NP Fellowship program will have the advantage of partnering with the organization’s GME program. This offers advanced didactics and collegial opportunities with many emergency medicine physicians.

What do your fellows tell you is their favorite aspect of the program?

As our program will begin its first cohort in February 2019, prospective candidates have expressed enthusiasm about the interprofessional approach. Patient-centered care demands an interdisciplinary team committed to best outcomes.  The applicants feel a fellowship program with benefit and advance their knowledge and experience while aiding in the pursuit of professional goals.

What innovations do you envision for the future of your program?

MRHC has visions of truly changing the face of care provided in Mississippi.  MRHC aims to be the Emergency Fellowship of choice educating highly qualified APPs in the emergency setting.    

Here is a link to the website https://www.mrhc.org/medical-education/emergency-nurse-practitioner-fellowship-program/

I am the ENP Fellowship Director and can be contacted at acomer@mrhc.org or 662-293-7488 for questions.