APRN Fellowship Program

Overview and Curriculum

Lexington Medical Center’s Nurse Practitioner Fellowship Program is committed to developing nurse practitioners through comprehensive training, mentorship, specialty rotations, and primary placement in a family or internal medicine practice.

The fellowship is a structured, one-year program designed to support recent graduate nurse practitioners. The fellows function in both the role of a provider and in a learning role, receiving advanced training through practical hands-on and didactic educational experience as well as specialty rotations. These experiences are designed to increase confidence and clinical skills of the providers.

Program Goals

• Provide quality health services that meet the needs of our communities
• Meet the demand for access to high quality health care with well-trained, confident nurse practitioners
• Increase the clinical skills, confidence, productivity and job satisfaction of new nurse practitioners, as well as contribute to employer satisfaction and workforce retention
• Retain family nurse practitioners committed to developing careers within Lexington Medical Center

Preceptorship

Lexington Medical Center providers serve as preceptors to guide nurse practitioner fellows through their learning experiences during the program. Fellows have a close relationship with their primary preceptors throughout the yearlong program and with secondary preceptors during specialty rotations.

With preceptor supervision, fellows develop their own patient panel, including physical and psychosocial assessment; interpretation of data; development and implementation of treatment plans; and follow through along the continuum of patient care within standard protocols established and approved by the nurse practitioner and practice physicians.

Specialty Rotations

Specialty rotations begin during the second month of the fellowship. Fellows spend one day per week at 23 different specialty offices throughout the network, in addition to their primary practice.

Specialty Examples:

Didactic Educational Sessions

The Lexington Medical Center Nurse Practitioner Fellowship Program dedicates two hours per week to formal learning sessions to develop problem solving skills for a variety of complex clinical challenges.

Case Presentations

Fellows will rotate each month by hosting a case presentation to discuss complex patients and the learning outcomes from the specific patient to help foster an environment of ongoing education and collaboration.

Monthly Preceptor Status Meetings

Fellows meet monthly with their preceptors to review goals, provide updates of activities and reflect on experiences and opportunities.

Rural Urgent Care Rotations

Fellows rotate through the rural urgent cares in either Batesburg-Leesville or Swansea to provide care on Saturday mornings throughout the program.