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Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Residency Program

The Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in academic partnership with the University of Texas Health Science Center Cizik School of Nursing is offering a Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Residency program designed for new graduate family and adult gerontology nurse practitioners with a commitment to serving our Veteran population.

This one-year NP 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, each resident will participate in specialty clinical rotations over the course of the year, in addition to the core experience in primary care, all under the guidance of highly qualified preceptors.

Residents will be in clinic 32-hours per week with a patient caseload and have 8 hours to dedicate to a robust didactic curriculum. 

This is a funded position though the Veterans Affairs Nursing Office of Academic Affiliations and includes vacation, sick leave, health care and dental care benefits. 

Mission

The overall mission of this program is to provide a 12-month intensive training program specifically designed to provide a robust post graduate training experience using Veteran-centric clinical and didactic learning experiences to increase competence and confidence in NP practice. The MEDVAMC PC-NPR training program will support learners to work in and lead interprofessional teams delivering quality, patient centered, team-based care to our nation’s Veterans. 

Goals

Practice-Based Learning and Improvement: Advance NP residents’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes in an environment that promotes the analysis of clinical situations, self-reflection, and opportunities for continuous improvement. 

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. 

Curriculum/Resident Experience

NP Residents will spend 80% of their time in the program immersed in experiential activities and 20% of their time increasing their veteran healthcare knowledge through didactic activities. 

  1. Experiential activities/Clinical Rotations: The NP residents will typically engage in 32 hours of clinical experience per week. Clinical experiences will be assigned by the residency director and coordinator.  Clinical experiences will be determined, to the greatest extent, based upon individual learning needs of the residents, preferences for clinical rotations and professional interest, and space availability in addition to availability of preceptors within the VA facility.  

    Each resident will participate in specialty clinical rotations over the course of the year, in addition to the core experience in primary care.  The clinical rotations will be completed under the guidance of highly qualified preceptors. They will be able to focus on comprehensive veteran health care and service era-based needs of Veterans. Additionally, they will experience interprofessional/interdisciplinary management which will allow them to enhance care and resourcefully utilize institutional and community resources to assist and support the veteran and their caregivers and/or family members.

  2. Residents will attend regular didactic sessions. Didactic sessions consist of a variety of academic/learning activities, didactic classes, simulation, and pre/post-clinical conferences for experiential learning and evaluation. 

Benefits

  • 12 months or 2080 hrs of paid residency
  • Salary of $91,929
  • Monday thru Friday work schedule
  • 11 paid holidays
  • 13 paid sick days (Accrue 4 hours of sick leave per pay period)
  • 13 vacation days (Accrue 4 hours of annual leave per pay period)
  • Full health and dental insurance coverage
  • 100% protected learning time

Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center

The Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center serves as the primary health care provider for more than 151,000 Veterans in southeast Texas. 

Houston exudes a cosmopolitan and down-home vibe together that lets the residents of the country's fourth-largest city and third-largest county (Harris) know that there's no place quite like Houston.

The city attracts visitors and transplants with a wonderful mix of world class arts, booming business, pro sports, and award-winning cuisine.

Eligibility

The applicant must:

  • Be a recent graduate (within 12 months) of master’s or doctoral level nurse practitioner program accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
    Have no prior work experience as a licensed Nurse Practitioner.
  • Minimum of 3.0 GPA
  • Citizen of the United States.
  • Hold current board certification in the same specialty area as the program’s focus:
    • Must hold either an Adult-Gerontological or Family Nurse Practitioner board certification for the Primary Care NP Track.
  • Current, full, active, and unrestricted registration and licensure as a nurse practitioner in a state, commonwealth or territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, prior to the start of the program

How to Apply and More Information

Applications will be accepted from Jan. 1, 2025 – Feb. 28, 2025 for FY 2025-2026.

Interviews will be conducted in March 2025 and selections will be made in April 2025. The tentative start date is Sept. 8, 2025

To apply, please submit your resume along with a completed application to the contacts below.

Dema Abdelmajid MSN, APRN, FNP-C
Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Residency Program Director
Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center
2002 Holcombe Blvd
Houston, Tx 77030
Dema.Abdelmajid@va.gov

Elsa Gates MSN, APRN, FNP-C
Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Residency Program Coordinator
Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center
2002 Holcombe Blvd
Houston, Tx 77030
Elsa.Gates@va.gov