Evaluation of Veterans Affairs primary care nurse practitioner residency: Achievement of competencies

Abstract Background The Institute of Medicine has recommended the establishment of residency programs for advanced practice nursing graduates. Currently, the evidence about program effectiveness is limited. Purpose To describe the nurse practitioner (NP) resident outcomes on seven competency domains established by the VA Centers of Excellence in Primary Care Education (VA CoEPCE). Methods We evaluated mean NP resident competency self-ratings and mean mentor ratings over the 12-month program across NP residency programs at five sites. Highest and lowest rated items and differences between NP resident self-ratings and mentor ratings were analyzed. Results Mean NP resident self-ratings and mean mentor ratings demonstrated statistically significant improvement in all domains ( p Conclusions These results provide initial evidence for the effectiveness of VA CoEPCE NP residency programs and also highlight areas of needed improvement.