Marion VA Nurse Practitioner Residency Program: A Bright Future in VA Health Care!

Hannah Cunningham’s Journey to Becoming a Nurse Practitioner with the VA Nurse Practitioner Residency Program.

My desire to enter the medical field started at a young age after growing up watching my father’s battle with an autoimmune disorder, multiple sclerosis, for many years.  It was my inspiration to go out into the medical field to care for other individuals and what pushed me to begin nursing school.  As time went on, I worked in the hospital setting, seeing where many individuals would end up needing emergent or critical care for untreated underlying health conditions.  This gave me a stronger desire to further my career to become a nurse practitioner, so I could help individuals to have the healthiest life they could live, which begins at primary care.

Why Marion VA?

As a native of Southern Illinois, the Marion VA Residency was the perfect opportunity to learn, grow and transition from registered nurse to nurse practitioner all while giving back to those who sacrificed their lives for our nation.    

Challenges and Overcoming Them

The greatest challenges a new nurse practitioner faces are the changes from being nurse to provider, there are new thought processes and evaluation skills needed to care for patients and diagnose appropriately.  The VA Residency program provides all resources one could need to have a strong knowledge base to be able to practice independently in the time that follows.  I truly feel I am being set up for success. 

Future Aspirations

I have loved my time thus far with the VA and hope to continue my career within the VA following my residency.

Balancing Training and Personal Well-being

I find balancing work training and personal well-being easily achievable; the program is a large amount of learning but also allows time for self-reflection and self-study times.  This lowers the amount of stress and worry that is often carried home from one’s workday.  I also take a moment on my commute home to think through the day’s work, patient’s seen and what could have gone better, I have found this to be helpful in strengthening my skills and allow myself to enjoy my time outside of work with less worries.

Advice for Prospective Trainees

I would recommend this program to any new graduate nurse practitioners; it has given me a slower paced exposure to this new role which has allowed me to build a strong base confidence to be able to go above and beyond for my patients. 

Speaking with VA Residency Program Director Jamie Mabry DNP, FNP-C about her thoughts on the program.

How long you have been involved?

 I have been the program director since the very first set of residents starting September 2021. I plan to continue with the next set of residents August 2025. I am working on credentialing the program this year with CCNE. 

Your thoughts on it?  

Nothing else like it for new NPs entering the workforce; very unique. It lays the groundwork for very skilled, educated, and prepared staff to take care of veterans. When they complete the residency, they have so much more experience and VA knowledge than any newly hired primary care provider. 

The residency program is developed to bring a new graduate novice nurse practitioner into a fully functioning competent independent primary care provider that can take on direct patient care. This residency program prepares that nurse practitioner for everything primary care and veterans affairs specific functioning. 

I think it is a very valuable program as it fills multiple gaps for primary care. Primary care having the hurdle of addressing staffing shortages can fill the gap by ensuring skilled, trained nurse practitioners that are ready to transfer directly into any area needing a nurse practitioner within the VA or within the local Marion facility.  In addition, the NP could be hired in other areas within the VA outside or primary care; for example, HBPC, CLC, or specialty. 

How it impacts the VA mission. 

The Marion VA Health Care System (MVAHCS) mission to improve the health of the veterans we service by providing primary care. The PC-NPR residency meets the mission by increasing access to primary care health care for the veterans. The PC-NPR residency meets the MVAHCS mission by providing high quality veteran centric healthcare. The NP residents learn about access/appointment goals for primary care and complete intakes to help get veterans enrolled in a timely fashion. They learn about veteran-centric mental health care and can transfer their care in a timely manner in the PCMHI process. They are trained in patient advocacy and to place veterans in the center of their own care planning through learning the PACT model and Whole Health model of care. They provide evidence-based care and learning about continuous improvement and/or program service line improvement through completing an evidence-based practice project that meets the MVAHCS vision of quality of care. Teaching and learning is a cornerstone of the MVAHCS and this residency program meets that goal. I could go on and on. 

Anything else you would like to share. 

It would be a great asset to retain the graduates within the VA upon their graduation. Retention of PC-NPR graduates help with staffing shortages. Retention of PC-NPR graduates ensure high quality already trained employees and faster onboarding. I hate losing them to the private sector on graduation. 

Additional information.

To learn more about the PC-NPR program, visit our website at https://www.va.gov/marion-health-care/work-with-us/internships-and-fellowships/primary-care-nurse-practitioner-residency-pc-npr-program/