Facilitators, barriers, benefits, and funding to implement postgraduate nurse practitioner residency/fellowship programs.

Abstract

A current trend to address the increasing numbers of new graduate nurse practitioners (NPs) and the expanding scope of practice of NPs is the emergence of employer-based postgraduate NP residency/fellowship programs. The purpose of this study was to conduct a comprehensive examination of postgraduate NP residency/fellowship programs in the United States, to gain an understanding of the facilitators, barriers, benefits, and funding of these programs, from the perspective of the program directors. This exploratory study used a quantitative design to conduct an online survey, developed by the researchers, of program directors of postgraduate NP residency/fellowship programs. Descriptive statistics were generated for continuous variables: the mean, SD, and minimum, and maximum values, and for categorical variables, frequency and percentage were reported. More than 90% of program directors indicated that NP recruitment and retention were benefits to organizations implementing NP residency/fellowship programs. Decision makers in organizations support postgraduate NP residency/fellowship programs and few barriers exist to implement programs. More than 84% indicated that physician and administrative support were facilitators to program implementation. Less than 50% of program directors identified barriers to implementation. Less than half of programs received funding sources for program implementation. This study provides data and insight into the emerging industry of postgraduate NP residency/training programs and informs regulators, educators, and employers about how to maximize the facilitators, reduce and decrease barriers, identify sources of funding, and appreciate the benefits of implementing programs.