Veteran Affairs Centers of Excellence in Primary Care Education: Transforming nurse practitioner education

Stuart Gilman's picture
Submitted by Stuart Gilman on Dec 15, 2014 - 9:33am CST

Resource Type: 
Journal Article

To integrate health care professional learners into patient-centered primary care delivery models, the Department of Veterans Affairs has funded five Centers of Excellence in Primary Care Education (CoEPCEs). The main goal of the CoEPCEs is to develop and test innovative structural and curricular models that foster transformation of health care training from profession-specific "silos" to interprofessional, team-based educational and care delivery models in patient-centered primary care settings. CoEPCE implementation emphasizes four core curricular domains: shared decision making, sustained relationships, interprofessional collaboration, and performance improvement. The structural models allow interprofessional learners to have longitudinal learning experiences and sustained and continuous relationships with patients, faculty mentors, and peer learners. This article presents an overview of the innovative curricular models developed at each site, focusing on nurse practitioner (NP) education. Insights on transforming NP education in the practice setting and its impact on traditional NP educational models are offered. Preliminary outcomes and sustainment examples are also provided.

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Author(s): 
Kathryn Wirtz Rugen
Sharon A. Watts
Susan L. Janson
Laura A. Angelo
Melanie Nash
Susan A. Zapatka
Rebecca Brienza
Stuart C. Gilman
Judith L. Bowen
JoAnne M. Saxe
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