Thundermist PMHNP Fellowship Mission

Our mission is to prepare new nurse practitioners to provide exceptional care to patients with complex medical, behavioral health, and social needs. Fellows will be provided with one year of intensive training to support them in developing the skills to deliver comprehensive healthcare as the leader of a robust care team. They will develop long-lasting skills to achieve outstanding clinical quality outcomes, address social determinants of health, and create health equity among the populations they serve.

Thundermist PMHNP Fellowship Vision

Our vision is to create a nurse practitioner workforce that is clinically and culturally competent, socially just, and highly effective. Fellowship training will lead to nurse practitioner with healthy work life balance that fosters a long-term career caring for underserved communities across the country.

Accreditation

Thundermist Health Center achieved national accreditation status from the Consortium for Advanced Practice Providers. The Consortium was created by national leaders establishing a set of rigorous, robust standards for NP Residency and Fellowship Programs leading to the only one accrediting postgraduate Nurse Practitioner program accredited through the U.S. Department of Education. Click here, for more information regarding the Consortium and the national movement to assure rigor and quality of these programs.

About the Program

The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Fellowship Program provides comprehensive training of the clinical complexity of behavioral health in community health centers and other safety net settings in a high-performance patient-centered medical home setting.

Our Fellowship is specifically intended for psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners who are committed to developing careers in the setting of community health centers and delivering evidence-based care to underserved populations. The Fellowship is a full-time, twelve-month salaried position with benefits. There is a one-year commitment to employment at Thundermist after completion of the program. The program structure includes specialty rotations, didactic sessions, and a dedicated preceptor for all precepted behavioral health care sessions.

Fellows will receive a unique and hands-on mentoring experience from a team of highly experienced behavioral health care professionals. These professionals, known as Fellowship preceptors, will work side-by-side with fellows to help them develop the expertise they need to succeed in their field.

The Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Fellowship is a 12-month program that begins annually in September and ends in August of the following year.

Why Thundermist Health Center?

Here at Thundermist Health Center we want to ensure each of our fellows are setup to achieve their highest level of professional success. Our Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Fellowship Program will provide fellows with the opportunity to work as a member of a closely knit multi-disciplinary care team.

Thundermist recognizes the importance and benefits of our fellow’s awareness of the economic, social, and environmental challenges patients may face. The Fellowship addresses these factors during the 5-week New Employee and Fellowship Orientation. Each fellow participates in the orientation session at the start of their Fellowship year. Meet-and-Greets with leaders and program staff of various programs within our communities as well as tours, either virtually or in-person, of their organizations constitute some of what occurs during this orientation period.

Fellows will receive a unique and hands-on mentoring experience from a team of highly experienced behavioral health professionals. These professionals, known as Fellowship preceptors, will work side-by-side with fellows in dedicated precepted clinics to help them develop the expertise they need to succeed in their field. Program leadership will also lead training in the responsibilities and privileges of behavioral staff participation at Thundermist.

In addition to our program preceptors and staff support, the Thundermist Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Fellowship Program will provide fellows with:

Full integration into the organization

    • Receive technical training on electronic health record
    • Involvement in quality and practice redesign
    • Participation in weekly fellowship debrief sessions with program leadership and steering committee members throughout the Fellowship year
    • 5-week THC and Fellowship Orientation

Core Elements:

    • Highly individualized precepted experience
    • Specialized rotations
    • Weekly didactic sessions: scheduled learning sessions on a variety of complex, clinical challenges most encountered in FQHCs
    • Training on Thundermist Quality Improvement Model
    • Ongoing multi-input evaluation component using qualitative and quantitative measures

Direct clinical practice, including but not limited to:

    • Psychopharmacologic Treatment
    • Medication Assisted Treatment
    • Substance use screening and treatment
    • Continuous training to Thundermist model of high-performance health system: access, continuity, planned care, team-based, prevention-focused, expert use of electronic technology and data
    • Participation in Project ECHO® case-based distance learning platform
    • Participation in C-TIER, a self-guided two-week Telemedicine Certification Course

The Fellowship has five key components

  1. Precepted “Continuity Clinics”: These are the cornerstone of the Fellowship. In precepted clinics, the nurse practitioner fellows develop their own patient panel while having an expert Thundermist provider (MD or APRN) exclusively assigned to them.
  2. Specialty Rotations: Rotations in areas of high-volume/high burden/high-risk situations most encountered in the setting of the FQHC. Rotations include Trans* Health, addiction medicine, Pediatric Psychiatric Crisis Evaluations, Incarcerated Populations Adolescents Focus, HIV Care, and behavioral health. Fellows also participate and complete a national, two-week, C-TIER Telemedicine Certification Course to help prepare them as we continue to find ways to maintain and extend patient access to care.
  3. Didactic Education Sessions: Formal learning sessions on a variety of complex clinical challenges most encountered in FQHCs. The content of the presentations corresponds to the fellow’s current clinical experience.
  4. Quality Improvement Training: Training on Thundermist Health Center’s Quality Improvement Model.
  5. Evaluations: The Thundermist Psychiatrics Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Fellowship Training Program provides an ongoing, multi-input evaluation component using qualitative and quantitative measures. Fellows’ complete evaluations on all components of their Fellowship experience. Preceptors, specialty rotation preceptors, support and program staff all participate in evaluations at varying times throughout the program year. Data gathered provides invaluable insight on how to continually develop and grow the program.

How to Apply

Through our admissions policy, we select two fully qualified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner fellows.

Application Process & Requirements

    • Accepted candidates must have taken their boards no later than July 1 of the program year. Please reach out to the Program Manager, Mary Rose, with any questions on this requirement.
    • Fellowship program admissions policy requires a complete application packet for a candidate’s consideration to the next step, the interview round. Fellowship program and agency staff members and leadership meet with pre-screened candidates for a day-long interview and orientation session.
    • Board Certification as Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner through either the AANP and/or ANCC.
    • You must have all applicable licensure by the time the program starts: RI APRN, CSR, and RN Licensure (All Active); DEA registration at a minimum in-process status.
    • Participate, collaborate, and comply with all aspects of Thundermist new onboarding provider Credentialing and Privileging Processes.
    • We recognize COVID-19 has greatly affected clinical rotation availability nationally. For this reason, we do accept nurse practitioner’s that have graduated from their programs 12 months to 18 months after completion of their programs.
    • Applicants must be a graduate of a master’s or DNP program.
    • Bilingual preferred.
    • A stated commitment to practice as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in safety net settings and an interest in integrated health care practice.

Our Fellowships are our investment in ensuring we provide additional tools for active and future Nurse Practitioners in their delivering of high level integrated and collaborative care. Thank you for your interest.

For more information, please contact: Mary Rose, Fellowship Program Manager at NPFellowship@ThundermistHealth.org.