Located within Peak Vista Community Health Centers, our APRN Fellowships include a well-established Primary Care Fellowship program and the new Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program. Both Fellowships offer five full-time employed positions for transitioning or recently graduated licensed APRNs who desire to increase their practice competence and confidence in a progressive, collaborative learning environment.
The 12-month programs combine mentorship, problem-based learning, and hands-on clinical experience. Both Fellowship experiences are primarily in the Integrated Fellowship clinic and host unique rotations within Peak Vista which complement each program. The Primary Care program includes out-rotations with Women’s Health Services, Pediatrics, and some specialties such as endocrinology. The PMHNP program includes out-rotations with Inpatient, Crisis, Developmental Disabilities Health Center, Primary Care, and Therapy.
To provide exceptional health care to people facing access barriers and to provide exceptional opportunities for recently graduated Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) to transition seamlessly from the academic to the clinical setting, and to facilitate the transition to practice for experienced Nurse Practitioners who have been out of the workforce or in another specialty.
Peak Vista Community Health Centers' APRN Fellowships are focused on enhancing the health of people and the community-at-large through a professional, caring staff who are motivated, enthusiastic, respectful, energetic and committed to strategic partnerships and a team approach to health care.
Postgraduate APRN Fellowships have been recommended by the Future of Nursing Report (2010) as a method to seamlessly transition recently graduated APRNs into the clinical setting. Peak Vista offers an accredited outpatient Primary Care Fellowship and a PMHNP Fellowship as part of an effort to improve health care access for people facing access barriers to care.
The Fellowship programs are philosophically oriented around Benner’s Novice to Expert Model, Bandura’s Theory of Self-Efficacy and vicarious learning, and general adult learning theory. Self-evaluated and preceptor-evaluated competencies are derived from modified ACGME Milestones (2019) which support the continuous progression of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and professional goals.
The five core competencies identified by the IOM Committee (2003) as crucial to health professionals' education include the following:
Fellows complete a QI project focused on an aggregate population or clinical practice problem. They are also required to attend CME's and work on projects and assignments that may occur outside of working hours. Additionally, Fellows are required to attend provider meetings over the course of the year.
Both Fellowship programs combine precepted interdisciplinary clinical immersion, relevant post-graduate didactic, and self-directed population management QI activities.
The goals of the Fellowship programs are:
The APRN Fellowships are a 12-month, full-time salaried position with a competitive benefits package.
Generally, the Fellowships begin the first or second week in September. The Fellows spend twelve months in an immersive, clinical environment, completing the program September of the following year.
Each Fellowship accepts 5 Fellows per program every year.
The programs are designed for transitioning or recently graduated licensed FNPs and PMHNPs who will be certified and licensed by the start of the program.
Yes, as licensed medical professionals, the APRN Fellows will see Peak Vista patients seeking primary medical care or psychiatric care.
The APRN Fellowship is based in the Health Center at Union located at 225 S Union Blvd, Colorado Springs, CO 80910
To learn more about the Primary Care Fellowship program, please e-mail APRNFellowship@peakvista.org, and to learn more about the PMHNP program, email PMHNP_Fellowship@peakvista.org
