Are you graduating from your nurse practitioner program in 2020 or are you a recently graduated NP? If so, you’ve got a lot of decisions to make. Where will you work? How will you continue to build upon the clinical foundation you’ve built in school? How will you find support and mentorship in your first NP job? Life as a new grad NP is overwhelming. There’s uncertainty about next employment steps and a lot of “I don’t know’s” in the clinical setting. I understand, I’ve been there.
As an experienced NP, I love meeting new graduates and helping them get established in their new role. I vividly recall the challenges and frustrations I faced at work right out of my nurse practitioner program and have always felt the need for a more supported transition from education to practice. This is what led us at ThriveAP to start our two residency-like program options for NPs, ThriveAP and ThriveAP+. (We’ve got a webinar on Tuesday, November 5th at 1:00pm CST so you can learn more!)
If you already have a job, or for any other reason cannot participate in a traditional residency program that matches you with a clinic, then ThriveAP is for you. Essentially, ThriveAP is a year-long primary care curriculum that fits into your workday. The program includes a two-day skills session in ThriveAP’s hometown, Nashville, TN, along with weekly in-person online sessions integrated with the workday. If you could use a skills boost in the early years of your nurse practitioner career, learn more about how you can enroll in ThriveAP in our info session. You can also download an information packet here. Please feel free to email ourProgram Director, Audi Westgate, at thriveap@thriveap.com with questions about enrollment.
ThriveAP+, a residency-like program for nurse practitioners, was started based on my own experiences as well as hearing similar sentiments from new graduate NPs around me. While our schooling gives us a clinical foundation, there’s still a lot to learn to be proficient and efficient in our jobs as providers. In order to thrive, on-the-job learning must happen. The problem? Many workplaces aren’t set up to be supportive, mentoring practice environments.
If you aren’t familiar with ThriveAP+, you can think of the program somewhat like a residency for nurse practitioners and physician assistants (you can also watch a video clip featuring past participants here). As NPs and PAs, we typically graduate from two-year graduate level programs. In the workplace setting, however, we are often expected to take on almost the same workload as physicians who have significantly more schooling. As a new graduate this expectation is challenging and unrealistic without a support structure in place. ThriveAP+ provides that support with our ThriveAP curriculum and by matching you with a facility that understands new graduates.
The application for 2020 ThriveAP+ cohorts and enrollment for ThriveAP are open! If you have graduated from your NP program, or plan to graduate in 2020, you can download an info packet here for more information about enrolling in or applying to these programs.
Info Session
If you would like to learn more about these programs, we are also hosting a live online information session on Tuesday, November 5th at 1:00pm CST. During the webinar, we will share more about how ThriveAP and ThriveAP+ work and give you the chance to ask any questions you have about the experience, application or enrollment process. Reserve your spot by registering here or to receive a link to a recording of the session after the webinar.
Can’t attend the info session? We’re happy to help! Register for the webinar as scheduled and we’ll email you a recording after the session ends to watch at your convenience. You can always email thriveap@thriveap.com with questions or for more information. We hope to have you attend in-person on the 5th!
