Member Feature: Shannon Gaasch, Acute Care Nurse Practitioner & Co-coordinator of UMMC Nurse Practitioner Critical Care Fellowship

I am a senior critical care nurse practitioner at R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, MD. I work in the multi-trauma critical care unit and neurotrauma critical care unit. I also have been a coordinator for our APP Critical Care fellowship at the University of Maryland Medical Center for the past 7 years.

2. Why do you believe fellowships are important for NPs? 
I unfortunately wasn't able to participate in our fellowship when I graduated just due to timing of graduation and the cohort starting. As a novice NP I transitioned into critical care practice on the same unit I was a nurse on. The transition to practice is a challenging time in general for a novice APP but starting on the unit you worked on as a nurse brought a whole other set of challenges. Over time I was able to see how much mentoring the fellows received in fellowship and how beneficial that is for the novice provider. I also had a passion for educating the novice APP which is why I wanted to get involved with the fellowship. Fellowships offer a variety of resources and training that allow the novice provider to be more well-rounded and better prepared for practice. I believe every new grad would benefit significantly from postgraduate fellowships. 

3. How do you see NPs grow and develop throughout their fellowship experience?
I can only speak to the fellows that graduate from our program but the thing I love to see is how much their self-confidence improves by the end of fellowship. They typically struggle in the beginning with imposter syndrome and going from the expert nurse to a novice provider, but throughout the fellowship cohort they engage with the various professional and personal development activities, as well as gain more clinical knowledge and decision-making skills, and by the end, they are feeling much more comfortable with their role. The professional and personal development piece is something we are really proud of in our fellowship and I wish I had as a new grad; it helps give them extra tools in the toolbox to be able to handle challenging situations. It's also really enjoyable to see the lightbulbs go off when we repeat a simulation from early on in the cohort near the end of the cohort and see how much they've improved in their diagnosis and management.

4. Tell us about the fellowship program at the University of Maryland Medical Center - how long has it been in place? How many fellows have you all had? Where do you see the program going in the future?
The fellowship at UMMC was started in 2012, it is a 9-month fellowship and typically has 2 fellows per cohort, though a few years we've been able to accept 3 fellows. We are about to start our 14th cohort in October and have 3 fellows this year. We have had a total of 23 fellows from 2012-2023, and 21 fellows completed the fellowship. 90% of our graduates accepted positions post fellowship, 81% of which are still employed at UMMC and the longest retention is 12 years. In 2020, we became accredited with the American Nurses Credentialing Center and achieved Accreditation with Distinction. 

5. What would be your recommendation to other NPs who want to start fellowship programs? 
My recommendation is to pick a credentialing body and build your program and curriculum based on their credentialing requirements. It is a streamlined tool that will help you to achieve accreditation at some point, and you will capture all of the necessary components to make a strong fellowship! Also I'd recommend joining APGAP because you will be able to collaborate and network with other programs that are just starting and those that have been in place for a while so you can gather insight from them while building your own program. 

6. Why are you an APGAP member? What do you like most about APGAP? 
I am passionate about the benefits of fellowship for the novice provider. Being able to collaborate, network, and learn from individuals who have been successful and learned through trial and error is a privilege. I love the APGAP conference, I think it is a fantastic way to meet people within the fellowship world and learn how to improve or alter a process in our fellowship. 

7. What would you say to someone who was considering joining APGAP? 
DO IT! For the reasons listed above, but also because you can participate in webinars and mentoring groups to continually improve your knowledge on how to best serve novice APPs and improve your fellowship program. 

8. What is your current position on the APGAP board? Have you held previous positions? If so, what are they? 
I am currently the Membership-elect, this is my first year on the board, and I've enjoyed being a part of it. The membership board position keeps track of our membership, assists in membership renewals, and coordinates the mentoring group by selecting mentor leaders (fellowship faculty) and assigning them to a mentee group which consists of faculty members who are looking to start, improve, or expand their fellowship programs.