Transitioning from your nurse practitioner program to working as a NP isn’t easy. In fact, the first few years of practice as a nurse practitioner aren’t easy. They can be quite overwhelming. In my first year of practice, I recall weekends and evenings spent charting. I arrived at work early everyday to review lab and other diagnostic test results. And, mostly, I was completely overwhelmed by my patient care responsibilities. Not to mention, it was difficult to find the help and support I desperately craved. Do you feel similarly?
If you find yourself floundering as a less experienced nurse practitioner, take heart. It does get better. I’ll also tell you that there’s a support system that can help ease this transition to practice.
You may have heard of ThriveAP+, ThriveAP’s version of a residency or fellowship for nurse practitioners and physician assistants. The program supports participants with a year-long didactic curriculum. From chronic kidney disease and deadly drug combinations in primary care to starting insulin therapy in diabetic patients and treating common dermatologic conditions, ThriveAP+ goes in depth exploring the most common diagnoses that NPs and PAs are expected to treat in the primary care setting.
The ThriveAP+ curriculum has two primary components:
1. Kickoff Conference
2. Weekly Online Sessions
At the ThriveAP+ kickoff conference, participants in the program convene at ThriveAP HQ in Nashville, TN for two days to participate in hands-on learning like suturing and office procedures as well as other education sessions. We cap off each day’s hard work with a social outing to connect with other program participants and grow a peer support network.
Following the kickoff, participants meet weekly in an online classroom setting to hear from experts about a different clinical topic each week. Curriculum includes subjects like ECG interpretation, understanding anemias, management of palpitations in primary care and more. Attendees also participate in a discussion based on a different topic each week, for example, what steps to take in patients presenting with certain chief complaints or guidelines for prescribing pain meds. Discussions have included subjects like lab interpretation, edema differentials, preparing for your annual performance review and talking with the anti-vax parent. Discussions allow the ThriveAP+ curriculum to adapt to current needs of participants.
Could you benefit from the support of continued learning and support in your current practice situation? We would love to have you as part of the ThriveAP+ program!
Here’s how you can participate:
1. Let your employer know you’d like to participate in the ThriveAP+ curriculum program. This includes participation in the 2-day Nashville kickoff as well as 90 minutes/week of live online classroom sessions.
2. Ask your employer to request a curriculum overview packet or reach out to our team at info@thriveap.com.
3. Once we hear from your employer, we’ll get in touch to iron out the details of your participation.
The ThriveAP+ curriculum program kicks off twice each year, in April and September. We still have room for a few more participants in our September 2018 cohort, so it’s not too late to ask your employer about participating in ThriveAP+ this year. We hope to meet you in Nashville at our upcoming kickoff!
Questions? Contact our team at info@thriveap.com or (615) 412-9903.