Nurse Practitioner Residency Training Program
Introduction
The Sun River Health Nurse Practitioner Residency Training Program is a 12-month intensive training that covers the clinical complexities of family practice in a safety net setting as well as training in a high -performance, PCMH model for primary care. This program is specifically intended for new family nurse practitioners who are committed to developing careers as primary care providers in a community health center or other safety net setting.
The residency is a full-time, 12-month salaried position with a one-year employment commitment after completion of the program. The program structure includes precepted primary care sessions, specialty rotations, mentored independent clinics, didactic sessions, and quality improvement.
About The Program
Sun River Health is training residents in our model of high-performance health care which includes advanced access scheduling, planned care, the chronic care model, integrated behavioral health and primary care, and team-based care with expert use of health information technology and electronic health records.
Three residency slots are available for the 2025-26 Nurse Practitioner Residency Class. The program begins on September 1, 2025 and concludes on August 31, 2026.
The year begins with an intensive orientation about Sun River Health, the communities in which the training sites are located, and the health problems of target populations. Orientation includes walking tours of different neighborhoods, tours of Sun River Health sites across our network, meetings with community leaders, technical trainings on electronic health records, and a presentation from our Chief Medical Officer on the responsibilities and privileges of medical staff participation at Sun River Health.
Key Program Components
Precepted Continuity Clinics
With four sessions per week, these clinics are the cornerstone of the residency program. In the clinics, the NP residents develop their own patient panel while having an expert Sun River Health primary care provider (MD, APRN, or PA) exclusively assigned to them.
Specialty Rotations
With two sessions per week every month, these firsthand clinical rotations take place in areas of high-volume / high burden / high-risk, which are most encountered in an FQHC setting. Rotations may include orthopedics, dermatology, women’s health, pediatrics, geriatrics, newborn / nursery care, HIV care, adult behavioral health care, child and adolescent behavioral health care, and health care for the unhoused.
Mentored Clinics
With two sessions per week, mentored clinics all the NP residents to work as a member of a team and see patients at the delegation of primary care providers, who remain available for consultations. The focus is on the practice of episodic and acute care visits.
Didactic Education Sessions
With one session per week, these formal learning sessions center on a variety of complex clinical challenges most encountered in FQHCs. The content of the presentations is planned to correspond to the residents’ current clinical experiences.
Quality Improvement Training
With one session per week, these training on Sun River Health’s quality improvement model include clinical microsystems and facilitation as well as leadership development.
The Sun River Health Nurse Practitioner residency training program provides and ongoing multi-input evaluation component using qualitative and quantitative measures.
Program Goals
The Nurse Practitioner Residency Training Program has the following goals:
- To increase access to quality primary care for underserved and special populations by training family practice nurse practitioners in an FQHC-based residency program that prepares residents for full and autonomous expert care of complex underserved populations across all life cycles and in multiple settings
- To provide new nurse practitioners (NPs) with a depth, breadth, volume, and intensity of clinical training necessary to serve as primary care providers in the complex setting of FQHCs
- To train new NPs to a model of primary care consistent with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) principles of health care and the needs of vulnerable populations
- To improve the clinical skills, confidence, productivity, and job satisfaction of new NPs who choose to work in underserved community settings, as well as contribute to employer satisfaction and workforce retention
- To increase the number of NPs ready to serve in leadership roles in community health settings.
Qualifications
Applicants must be recent graduates (no more than 24 months) from an accredited Masters or DNP program, licensed (NY APRN) and credentialed (FNP-C) or license / credential-eligible as an FNP with a stated commitment to practice as a primary care provider in an FQHC or other safety net setting.
If you have any questions, please e-mail npresidency@sunriver.org.
How To Apply
Applications for the 2025 - 26 program are now open! Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible to be considered. Spots in the program are offered on a space-available basis. The program will continue to accept and review applications until the class is filled, but no later than August 1, 2025.
The following items are required to complete the application process:
- A completed application
- Your curriculum vitae (CV)
- Official graduate school transcripts
- Three letters of recommendation
- Completed personal statement and essay questions
Click here to download the application.
All completed applications should be submitted electronically by emailing them to npresidency@sunriver.org. Simply download the application PDF, complete all fields, save, and attach it to the email.
If you have any questions, please contact npresidency@sunriver.org.
