Perceptions of Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants/Associates Toward the Concept of Developing an Advanced Practice Postgraduate Residency/Fellowship Program at a Large Academic Medical Center

Introduction There have been exponential growth and increased interest in postgraduate residency/fellowship formalized training among nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants/associates (PAs). Although not a requirement for state licensure and entry-level practice, postgraduate NP and PA residency/fellowship programs offer a structured pathway for new graduates and experienced PAs and NPs looking to transition into a new medical or surgical specialty/subspecialty. In this article, we examine the perceptions of employed NPs and PAs toward postgraduate training including the concept of developing a program at our institution. Methodology This was a cross-sectional single-large academic medical center (AMC) study, where an anonymous electronic survey was initially developed by the director of advanced practice providers (APPs). The survey was piloted by members of the Advanced Practice Council (APC) comprising NPs, PAs, and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), and their collective feedback was used to finalize the survey prior to distribution. Descriptive statistics were used to describe and summarize the data. In addition, we assessed the association between respondents' characteristics and perceptions regarding NP and PA residency/fellowship programs using chi-squared tests of independence. Results The majority of the respondents (69.1%; 65/94) believed that starting an advanced practice residency/fellowship program at our AMC has many benefits such as increasing specialty-specific knowledge and training (79.8%; 75/94), improving medical decision-making (73.4%; 69/94), promoting professional development and clinical education (73.4%; 69/94), and improving procedural competency (60.6%; 57/94). Moreover, over half of the respondents (53.2%; 50/94) indicated that there is value in an APP residency/fellowship program obtaining optional accreditation. Additionally, over half of the respondents (56.4%; 53/94) indicated that they would be interested in participating as a clinical preceptor if an APP residency/fellowship program was developed at our AMC. Lastly, about one-third of the respondents felt strongly that APP residency/fellowship training programs should offer post-professional doctoral degree options such as Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc), and Doctor of Health Science (DHSc). Conclusion Although most respondents have never completed a formalized postgraduate training program and were less familiar with the published literature regarding these programs, our findings suggest that the attitudes of employed NPs and PAs are generally positive toward the concept of postgraduate specialty-specific training.