Community-Based Nurse Practitioner Fellowship

Fellowship Program

Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN) is pleased to implement a HRSA-funded Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Residency (NPR) program. The purpose of the project is to prepare APRNs to work in rural and underserved communities.

Our NPR program will increase the APRN primary care workforce in rural and underserved communities through collaboration with partner community-based health clinics (CBHCs). The program funding will support FNP, PMHNP, CNM, and WHNP fellows during the 2024 cohort year.

  • NPs within 18 months of graduation are eligible to apply.
  • Applicants must demonstrate a strong desire to work with rural or urban underserved populations.
  • VUSN screens applicants and recommends candidates for interview; CBHCs hire fellows as full-time employees of their organization.
  • CBHC Fellows complete a structured 12-month residency program with guidance from a clinical mentor at the CBHC. The program includes continuing education tailored to post-graduate NPs in rural practice, monthly group debrief conferences, and ongoing coaching and support from VUSN faculty.
  • CBHC Fellows receive additional psych/mental health content and gain valuable experience applying this knowledge through integrated behavioral health care in their CBHC site.
  • CBHC Fellows and their CBHC have access to consults with behavioral health experts via telehealth.

For further information, contact vusn.npr@vanderbilt.edu.

Application

Fellows agree to 12 months of full-time employment at the CBHC. Participation in the additional didactic and focused experiences involving social determinants of health, psychopharmacology, and telehealth in the context of a rural or medically underserved clinic is required.

Applications for the 2024/2025 fellowship cohort are closed. The application for the 2025/2026 cohort will be posted summer 2025.

Current Community-Based Health Clinics (CBHCs)

Project Team

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