By Laura Gasque
The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing is launching its third nurse residency with the Birmingham VA Health Care System, a Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Residency, continuing its longstanding partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and BVAHCS. Three resident positions will be available in this post-Master of Science in Nursing or post-Doctor of Nursing Practice program.
“The BVAHCS/UAB partnership in the Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Residency (PC-NPR) underscores the commitment of all stakeholders to serve our veterans with the best and brightest of our profession, trained to serve with confidence and competence,” said Assistant Professor and PC-NPR Affiliate Director Alice Bristow, DNP, CRNP, FNP-BC, CNE, BC-ADM (BSN 2006, MSN 2012, DNP 2019).
Residents will receive training through clinical experiences and didactic classroom instruction in an interprofessional environment. Bristow said the role of the nurse practitioner is vital to communities.
“With 88% of NPs currently educated in primary care, we provide excellent quality primary services at cost savings, and our work in vulnerable populations increases access to good health care for millions of individuals,” Bristow said.
The Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Residency joins the UAB School of Nursing/BVAHCS Post-Baccalaureate – Registered Nurse Residency and the Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Residency. Since 2009, the School has had a formal partnership as a VA Nursing Academy site in the U.S.—now known as the VA Nursing Academic Partnership. This unique partnership is strategically designed to accomplish mutually beneficial goals, the most important being the shared vision to transform the care of Veterans and their families by working collaboratively to educate compassionate, highly competent nurses and nurse practitioners.
In 2015, the School and BVAHCS received the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Exemplary Academic-Practice Partnership Award, which recognizes AACN member institutions involved in highly productive and model academic-practice partnerships.
“Collaboration between academic institutions, such as UAB, and VHA is the cornerstone of progress in health care, bridging theory with practice to advance medicine and improve patient outcomes,” said Jana Falkner, DNP, RN, NE-BC, Deputy Director of Primary Care for the BVAHCS. “The Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Residency will enhance the competencies of new primary care nurse practitioners and prepare highly qualified leaders to transform the care of Veterans and their families.”
“The Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Residency will facilitate a smooth transition of newly graduated Primary Care Nurse Practitioners into practice,” said Professor and Associate Dean for Clinical and Global Partnerships Michele Talley, PhD, ACNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN (MSN 2005, PhD 2015). “And, our continued partnership with the Birmingham VA Health Care System serves as yet another nursing workforce accelerator.”
