Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Residency Program
This VA Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA) funded 12-month post-graduate NP residency in primary care for homeless and vulnerable Veterans is an innovative program admitting residents annually since the summer of 2016 at the Greater Los Angeles VA’s Center of Education for Interprofessional Academic Patient Aligned Care Team (CoE IA HPACT). The purpose of the CoE IA HPACT is to further develop the primary care clinical and professional skills necessary to achieve competence in caring for homeless Veterans as a member of an interprofessional PACT team within the VA healthcare system.
Center of Education for Interprofessional Academic Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team
There are four primary care track resident positions offered annually. Clinical experiences include managing the primary care of homeless and vulnerable veterans in a supportive team as well as rotations in street medicine, medicine specialties, and electives to augment advanced clinical knowledge. Residents are mentored by interprofessional faculty to achieve professional competencies in homeless care, primary care-mental health integration, humanism, leadership, and teamwork. Didactic sessions are held weekly. Residents participate in developing the Center of Education Interprofessional Academic Homeless Patient Care Aligned Team including teaching other professional and trainee team members, case presentations, program development/ evaluation, and applying new quality improvement skills to projects.
Center of Education Mission Statement
The CoE IA HPACT will train the next generation of health professionals to care for vulnerable patients in a way that builds patients’ self-efficacy while meeting their social, psychological, and physical needs, with empathy and teamwork.
Training Experiences, Supervision and Didactics
The clinical experiences will include managing the primary care of homeless and vulnerable veterans in a supportive team as well as a rotation in street medicine, medicine specialties, and electives to augment advanced clinical knowledge. Residents will be mentored by interprofessional faculty to achieve professional competencies in homeless care, primary care-mental health integration, humanism, leadership, and teamwork. Didactic sessions will be held biweekly. Trainees will participate in developing the CoE IA HPACT including teaching other professional and trainee team members, case presentations, program development/ evaluation, and applying new quality improvement skills to projects.
Please visit the Nurse Residency Program page for more information including how to apply.
Email application packet to Program Director at Kristin.Kopelson@va.gov
Kristin A. Kopelson DNP, ACNP-BC, FNP-BC, FAANP
Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Residency Program Director, VA Center of Education Interprofessional Academic Homeless PACT Assistant Clinical Professor, UCLA School of Nursing
VA Greater Los Angeles health care
Phone: 310-478-3711, ext. 43116
Email: kristin.kopelson@va.gov
