Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Residency Program

Program mission and goals:

The purpose of the VASTLHCS PC-NPR Program is to provide a supportive environment for NP residents as they transition into a new role as a licensed independent provider of primary care. The mission of the program is to provide veterans with access to quality VA patient-centered care by maintaining a staff of competent NPs, whose practice and philosophy are rooted in the ICARE core values, and who are prepared to work to the highest level of their license. To achieve this, education and training are provided to new graduate NPs in affiliation with our academic partner, Maryville University, in a residency program that emphasizes both clinical and scholarly aspects of the nursing profession.

Program goals are:

1. To prepare and support qualified, competent, professional, NPs as they transition into independent primary care practice.
2. To enhance recruitment and retention of staff nurses who have completed a NP program.
3. To promote the VA as a place of opportunity.
4. Support professional nurses seeking advancement in their careers.
5. Support the important mission of providing care to those who have served and protected the Nation.

Objectives for the NP residents are:

1. Develop competencies required to assume an independent practice provider role in a primary care clinic.
2. Work on an intradisciplinary team to develop collaboration and collegial skills.
3. Develop leadership skills that are necessary to be successful in the NP role.
4. Develop an understanding of various healthcare systems.
5. Expand expertise in procedures used in PC.
6. Expand skills in advanced health assessment.
7. Use skills in evidence-based practice and research to develop a QI project, implement the project, evaluate the outcomes, and present the project to the PC team.

Advanced Nursing Practice: 

We support the use of evidence-based knowledge in an interprofessional practice environment to develop competent, confident and collaborative nurse practitioners capable of embracing new ideas and facilitating change.

Leadership:  

We strive to provide an interprofessional team-based environment where NP residents can learn and practice leadership strategies to lead and improve collaboration among interprofessional healthcare team members.

Scholarship:  

We promote scholarly opportunities for NP Residents to lead & engage in interprofessional quality improvement activities. We promote leadership development through team leadership roles and educational programs. We promote the dissemination of work through publication and professional conference attendance.

Overview of the St. Louis VA facility

The St. Louis VA Health Care System (VASTLHCS) has two divisions. The John Cochran Division is located at 915 North Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63106. The Jefferson Barracks Division is located at #1 Jefferson Barracks Drive, St. Louis, MO 63125. There are also several off-campus specialty care clinics and outpatient centers in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

 The St. Louis VAMC is a full-service health care facility providing inpatient and ambulatory care in medicine, surgery, psychiatry, neurology, and rehabilitation, as well as over 65 subspecialty areas. It serves veterans and their families in east central Missouri and southwestern Illinois. The John Cochran Division has all the medical center's operative surgical capabilities, the ambulatory care unit, and a six-story clinical addition that includes surgical facilities, intensive care units, outpatient psychiatry clinics, and expanded laboratory. The primary care nurse practitioner resident (PC-NPR) clinics are located on the first floor of the John Cochran Division and in building 55 on the Jefferson Barracks campus.

The Jefferson Barracks Division provides primary care, psychiatric treatment, regional spinal cord injury treatment, a community living center (nursing home care unit), geriatric health care, rehabilitation services, and a rehabilitation domiciliary program for homeless veterans. The VA St. Louis Health Care System Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) are in Shiloh, IL; O'Fallon, MO (St. Charles County); St. Louis, MO (North St. Louis County); and Washington, MO (Franklin County).

Requirements for applicants:

National Board Certification before May 15
Valid RN & APRN Licenses
Curriculum Vitae
3 Professional References sent to the Program Director via email
Graduate from a Nationally Accredited NP program within the past 12 months
Final Transcripts
U.S. Citizen
Proficient in English
Selection is a competitive process based on application and interviews.

Applications accepted year-round

For more information visit https://www.va.gov/oaa/nursing.asp