Advanced Practitioner Fellowship in Primary Care

Program Overview

Baystate Health’s Advanced Practitioner Fellowship in Primary Care is a 12-month postgraduate training program for new Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) graduates (within 18 months of certification) seeking to build a strong foundation in primary care within a community health setting.

Fellows will:

• Develop a strong foundation for a career in community-based primary care. Provide patient care with preceptor support at one of Baystate’s Community Health Centers, including Baystate High Street Center  (adult medicine and pediatrics) in Springfield, MA
• Learn comprehensive primary care for complex, disproportionally impacted populations across the lifespan with clinical and professional support from experienced nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs).
• Train alongside a multidisciplinary team with a wide variety of expertise and clinical interests. Fellows may explore focused learning in women’s health, addiction medicine, chronic disease management, and new models of health care delivery.
• Complete specialty rotations that complement their work in primary care, such as women’s health, geriatrics, addiction medicine, and others that vary by year and the interest of the fellows.
• Engage in a robust didactic curriculum alongside other new advanced practitioners, receive extensive precepting and mentorship, and gradually develop and manage your own patient panel.

Program Goals and Vision

The Fellowship provides new graduate Nurse Practitioners with intensive mentored training during their first year of practice. Training at High Street Health Center exposes FNP Fellows to high-quality, team-based primary care in a nationally recognized, safety net setting.

The program aims to:

1. Prepare new NPs for full, autonomous, and comprehensive complex primary care practice in the community health center setting, especially for the disproportionally impacted.
2. Enhance clinical skills, competence, productivity, and job satisfaction among new NPs pursuing careers in community health, while improving retention and employer satisfaction.
3. Increase access to high-quality primary care providers for disproportionally impacted patients who rely on community health centers.

Applying to the Program

Qualifications

Applicants must:

• Submit a resume, NP program transcript, essay/narrative response, and two letters of recommendation.
• Be a recent or pending graduate of a master’s or DNP nursing program.
• Be certified or board eligible as a FNP in Massachusetts before June 1st of the start year.
• Demonstrate a commitment to practicing primary care in community health centers or in settings serving urban, rural, and/or tribal disproportionally impacted populations.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis once the position is posted annually, usually starting in December. Job posting can be found at choosebaystatehealth.org.

Contact Information

Recruiter: Alexis Womack
Program Director: Julie Bordua, NP
Program Co-Director: Leilani Kidder, NP