Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Residency Program

This one-year residency is available to 3 selected applicants annually. Residents will enjoy a full-time schedule while completing 2080 hours of 1:1 mentoring with Primary Care Providers in the Primary Care outpatient setting. In addition, collaborative, interprofessional practice opportunities will occur in the Cardiology, Pulmonary, Dermatology, Pain Management, Mental Health, Women’s Health, Podiatry, Gastroenterology, Neurology, Home Care, and chronic long-term care departments.  Residents will be in the clinic 32 hours a week with a patient caseload and have 8 hours to dedicate to a robust didactic curriculum. This is a funded position through the Veterans Affairs Nursing Office of Academic Affiliations and includes paid salary and insurance benefits.

Mission

The purpose of the PC-NPR program is to prepare our residency graduates to serve as a resource within professional, academic, and social communities while providing evidence-based care to our Veterans.

Our hope is that you can become competent and confident in your role leading a PACT (patient-aligned care team) and that this year of ongoing training alleviates much of the stress that occurs when stepping into a new position. 

During this year much of your time will be spent one-on-one with a preceptor applying the knowledge you have gained during your master's or doctorate program. They will encourage you to hone and improve those skills and apply them specifically to our veteran population. 

The VA health system as a whole is focused on becoming a “high-reliability organization” One of the staples to achieving this goal is to use evidence-based practice. We will continually analyze, contribute, and apply evidence-based practices within our care of veterans.

We want to strengthen advanced practice nursing as a whole and for you. The veteran population is ever-rising in number and aging, and it is vital that our provider population competently grows as well. However, your leadership roles will likely not end when you leave our campus, the opportunities to give back to the NP community are vast and always needed.

The Chillicothe VA and our CBOCs, as well as many other VAs around the country, have a unique focus on serving and meeting the needs of our rural veterans. There is a push within the entire system to attract and retain quality providers with rural roots to serve their local veteran population. 

Developing inter-professional skills is vital to our health system. The healthcare provided at the VA is sometimes unique when compared to public systems. We rely heavily on multiple specialties, departments, and skill levels to provide in-depth and high-quality health care. It is imperative that our residents become comfortable with working with others, giving and receiving feedback, as well as prioritizing required meetings. 

The program is based upon a forty-hour work week for a full year. This results in 2080 hours for the residency year. Please note you will not be penalized for utilizing your sick or annual leave. However, schedule modifications may be necessary to cover all material. Didactic courses and assignments will be required to be completed within 5 days of returning from any leave. 

Yellow Belt courses have been built into the curriculum and end project of your residency. Yellow Belt is a set of methodologies and tools used to improve processes by reducing errors and increasing quality and efficiency. This relates directly back to our desire to become a high-reliability organization, using evidence-based practice. OAA requires each resident to complete a quality improvement project. Our goal is to integrate this with a yellow belt certification course. 

Goals

1. Provide a year-long training program that prepares new graduate FNP/AGNPs for independent practice.

2. Residents will demonstrate competence in the ability to perform as licensed independent practitioners.

3. Residents will gain confidence in the role of a licensed independent practitioner.

4. Integrate evidence-based knowledge, ethical principles, and clinical excellence in advanced practice nursing while caring for the Veteran population.

5. Increase access to primary health care for Veterans through active recruitment, training, and retention of residents within the VA.

6. Develop collaborative skills through interprofessional relationships and the team-based care approach.

7. Provide newly graduated NPs with the depth, breadth, and diversity of clinical training necessary to serve as a primary care provider in the VA.

8. Complete the yellow belt course and project

The goal of program completion- residents will be empowered to successfully manage an average PACT caseload. Residents will be knowledgeable and confident to access the numerous resources available to successfully care for veterans on a PACT.

Curriculum & Resident Experience

• Initial 4-month immersion into a Patient Aligned Care team with an expert preceptor 
• While continuing to hone primary care skills within your assigned PACT begin rotating through our offered specialties
• The final phase of residency focuses on competencies, leadership, and professional development 
• 8 hours of each week will be dedicated to didactic.  A variety of opportunities are utilized such as projects, guest speakers, lectures, games, and journals as well as integration with other residency programs on campus that align with the advanced practice nurse’s role                                     
• Simulation Lab

Benefits

• Monday through Friday work schedule
• 11 paid holidays
• 13 paid sick days
• 13 vacation days

• Full insurance coverage

  • Health
  • Vision
  • Dental
  • Life

   

Chillicothe VA Medical Center

The Chillicothe VA Medical Center is a Level 2 complexity facility that provides primary care services, acute and chronic mental health services, and a wide range of geriatrics and long-term care services to the Veterans residing primarily in rural southeastern and south-central Ohio. The medical center serves as a mental health referral center for medical centers in VISN 10 and parts of West Virginia. Chillicothe is a 305-bed facility with 28 psychiatric beds, 27 rehab beds, 172 community living center beds, and 78 domiciliary beds. At the Chillicothe campus, primary care services are provided through eight Primary Care Teams. Our six Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) facilities offer a variety of services and are located up to 111 miles away from the main campus, serving Veterans throughout the Athens, Cambridge, Lancaster, Marietta, Portsmouth, and Wilmington, Ohio areas.

The Chillicothe VAMC is an affiliated teaching hospital delivering a full range of patient care services and providing state-of-the-art technology, and medical education. Chillicothe has an OAA-funded Psychology Internship and Optometry, Physician Assistant Mental Health, and PGY 1 and 2 Pharmacy Residency programs. 

The Chillicothe VAMC has a long-standing strong relationship with the Ohio University School of Nursing.

The Chillicothe Area

Historical Chillicothe is located approximately 50 miles south of Ohio’s capital, Columbus, and is a direct drive on US-23. Chillicothe has a rich Native American History. In the 1800s the Erie Canal ran through downtown connecting Chillicothe to Lake Erie. Chillicothe’s downtown sits along the historical canal area and is comprised of many restaurants with outdoor dinning options, a variety of retail spaces, a historical theatre that is still in operation and a large well maintained city park. 

Our VA campus is located on the former Camp Sherman Grounds that originally Served as a World War I training center, many of those historical buildings comprise our facility still. Today it is also home to a public golf course and the Chillicothe Paints, a baseball prospect league team.

For More Information

Kristin Bierhup MSN, APRN, FNP-C

Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Residency Director

Chillicothe VA Medical Center

17273 State Route 104

Chillicothe, OH 45601

Kristin.bierhup@va.gov

Phone: