Geriatric and Extended Care Nurse Practitioner Residency Program
The MEDVAMC Geriatric and Extended (GEC) Nurse Practitioner Residency (NPR) Program is a twelve-month postgraduate training program.
The program offers the opportunity to expand one's existing knowledge base and strengthen clinical skills in the care of our older adult Veterans with complex medical and psychosocial needs. The program emphasizes comprehensive geriatric evaluation, person-centered care planning, management of polypharmacy, palliative and end-of-life care, and seamless transitions of care across settings.
The GEC-NPR program will enhance the novice nurse practitioners' knowledge and skills acquired during their nursing practice and graduate-level academic education and prepare them to be proficient in the care of aging Veterans with multimorbidity and frailty.
Geriatric NP Residency Program Information Sessions | March 30, 2026 at 12:30 p.m. & 6 p.m.
Join Houston VA on Microsoft teams for virtual information sessions to learn more about our residency program!
Mission Vision and Goals
Mission: The Geriatrics Extended Care-Nurse Practitioner Residency (GEC-NPR) program at MEDVAMC is a robust 12-month intensive training program specifically designed to provide a comprehensive one-year post-graduate training period for nurse practitioners (NPs) using Veteran-centric clinical and didactic learning experiences focused on the care of older adult population. The mission of the GECNPR program at the VA is to build upon the foundational knowledge of new graduates to develop competent and confident nurse practitioners, equipped with geriatric-specific knowledge and skills necessary to care for the specific needs of Veterans.
The MEDVAMC GEC-NPR training programs support learners to work in and lead interprofessional teams delivering quality, patient-centered, team-based
Vision: To be a leading force in geriatric healthcare excellence by cultivating highly skilled, compassionate nurse practitioners dedicated to improving the quality of life for our aging veterans. Our program seeks to foster an environment of continuous learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovative care delivery that translates into superior patient outcomes and sets the standard for geriatric care nationwide.
Goals:
- Practice-Based Learning and Improvement: The residency program includes comprehensive training on the 4Ms Framework of Age-Friendly Health Systems What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility.
- Knowledge for Practice: Provide hands-on experience in an environment committed to age-friendly principles. Through rotations and clinical placements, they work across various settings such as primary care, specialty clinics, inpatient units, and long-term care facilities, focusing on age-friendly care.
- Patient Care: Emphasize the importance of understanding what matters most to older adults and their caregivers. Residents learn to have meaningful conversations with patients and caregivers to align care plans with the patients' values and preferences.
- Systems-Based Practice: Establish and maintain a clinical learning environment that supports NP residents to develop patient care plans that mobilize resources, engage interprofessional teams, and work effectively across the healthcare system.
- Personal and Professional Development: Facilitate NP resident leadership roles on interprofessional care teams and in a collaborative learning environment. Provide an environment that encourages professional development as a nurse practitioner.
- Interprofessional Collaboration: Prepare NP residents to deliver and optimize
Outcome
The GEC -NPR program intent is to provide an intensive and innovative clinical experience supported by professional activities to facilitate transition to practice for nurse practitioners. The program’s expected outcomes include:
- Residents demonstrating achievement of essential advanced nursing practice competencies
- Residents demonstrating improved confidence in role transition into professional practice while providing safe and effective patient care,
- Residents demonstrating increased knowledge of scientific inquiry to support advanced nursing practice
- Strengthen the recruitment and retention of newly hired graduate nurse practitioners in the workforce.
Residents rotate through multiple geriatric care environments, including:
- Community Living Center
- Geri-PACT
- Home Based Primary Care within 50 radius miles from MEDVAMC in Houston, Katy, Conroe, and other outlying community based outpatient care clinics and surrounding areas
- Hospice and Palliative Care
- Community Nursing Home programs
- Other specialty areas
The primary goal of the GEC- NP Residency Program is to enhance geriatric workforce by producing nurse practitioners proficient in the following:
- Comprehensive geriatric evaluation
- Assessment, diagnostic testing, treatment, and planning of care for aging Veterans with complex medical and psychosocial needs
- Management of polypharmacy, including consideration of risks and benefits of medications in older Veterans
- Palliative care, end-of-life care, and advanced care planning
- Transitions of care
- System-based approach to anticipate and deploy resources to optimize outcomes
- Leadership of interprofessional teams in providing high quality care and designing quality improvement initiatives
The trainees will spend 40 hours in clinical and didactic learning activities weekly to become proficient in competencies specified in GEC-NPR curriculum.
- Residency curriculum includes: 80% experiential and 20% didactic learning
- GEC NP Residency clinical sites include various clinical areas of the MEDVAMC, community-based programs, and home-based programs
- Clinical rotation sites include Community Living Center, Geri-PACT, Home Based Primary care, Hospice and Palliative Care, specialty areas, and other geriatric models of care, community nursing home programs (80%)
- Clinical and didactic activities are planned as face-to-face and virtual activities
- Integrated and parallel clinical didactic sessions (20%)
- Quality-improvement project
Eligibility
- Must be U.S. citizens
- Be a graduate from an accredited NP (ACEN or CCNE) program within 12 months of the program start date (September of the application year)
- Must hold national certification by the start of the residency program
- GEC -NPR candidates must be certified as an FNP, AGPCNP or AGACNP
- Licensure: Current, full, active and unrestricted registration as a graduate professional nurse in a State, Territory or Commonwealth (i.e., Puerto Rico) of the United States, or the District of Columbia
- Minimum of 3.0 GPA
- Serving in their first nurse practitioner role for the applicable residency track
- Proficient in written and spoken English
- Pass a background/security investigation
- Pass pre-employment physical examination
Benefits and Residency Stipend
Residents are appointed as full-time federal trainees with a one-year commitment. The salary and benefits are defined by the VA Office of Academic Affiliations. Please recognize this is a temporary position. Employment after completion of the program is not guaranteed. Time worked does not go towards federal service and union representation is not available for residents participating in this program.
Benefits include:
- A government-sponsored health care plan (medical, dental, vision, FSA, HSA, life insurance)
- 11 paid federal holidays, accrued paid time off and sick leave
- No call or weekend shifts
- 100% protected learning time
When to apply
Applications for the GEC-NPR program AY 2026-2027 will be accepted starting March 10, 2026 12 a.m. CST through April 16, 2026, 12 a.m. CST.
- No rolling admissions or applications are allowed.
- Interviews will be conducted virtually with dates TBD.
- Applicants will be notified if selected by May 2026.
- Residency will begin September 2026, and end on September 2027.
Notice: If you are a current government employee, please contact the program director prior to completing your application. A conversion status change from employee to trainee, including changes in benefits, will be required to participate in the residency programs.
How to apply
To apply, please submit your resume, transcripts, APRN license, three recommendation letters, and certification along with a completed application 10-2850D to myla.magno@va.gov.
Please click on the link above to access the application form 10-2850D. Please follow all instructions carefully and submit as one application (including three recommendation /letters of reference (academic instructor, a preceptor and one from a place of employment/co-worker)) in PDF format. Incomplete applications will not be accepted or reviewed.
For questions, please contact:
Myla A. Magno, DNP, APRN, GNP-BC, PMHNP-BC, GS-C
Geriatric and Extended Care Nurse Practitioner Residency (GEC-NPR) Program Director
Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center
myla.magno@va.gov