APC Fellowships 2023 Annual Highlights

New programs show success

This past year brought a tremendous amount of growth to the HealthPartners Advanced Practice Clinician (APC) Fellowships! HealthPartners Institute Office of Health Professional Education partnered with department leaders and colleagues to implement new programs in Cardiology, Acute Care Surgery and Urgent Care.

Cardiology

The Cardiology APC Fellowship, based at Regions Hospital, began in January 2023. The APC fellow receives comprehensive experiences in outpatient cardiology clinics and inpatient cardiology consult services, in addition to rotations in a variety of cardiac subspecialties and related medical specialties. The first cardiology APC fellow, Stacie Aubart, CNP, was hired as a staff APC in cardiology upon completion of the program. Cardiology is recruiting for their next APC fellow to start in January 2025.

Acute Care Surgery

The Acute Care Surgery APC Fellowship at Regions Hospital focuses their training in three core services: trauma surgery, emergency general surgery and surgical intensive care. Additional rotations include pertinent surgical specialties, internal medicine, pain medicine and trauma at Gillette Children’s Hospital. Acute Care Surgery also collaborates with HealthPartners Institute Clinical Simulation to offer weekly skills and high-fidelity simulation experiences. The first cohort of APC fellows, Claire Conner, PA-C, and Dakota Disher, PA-C, began in March 2023 and have successfully transitioned to their staff APC positions with the Acute Care Surgery team. The third cohort of APC fellows began in May 2024.

Urgent Care

The Urgent Care APC Fellowship is an organization-wide program, with the APC fellows working at both HealthPartners and Park Nicollet Urgent Care sites. The clinical curriculum includes rotations in emergency medicine, pediatrics, orthopedics, otolaryngology, OB-GYN, ophthalmology, cardiology, and occupational medicine. The first Urgent Care APC fellow, Arica Lambrecht, CNP, began in September 2023 and will transition to a staff APC role with HealthPartners Urgent Care upon completion. The second cohort started in July 2024.

Urgent Care APC fellow, Arica Lambrecht, CNP, and Urgent Care APC Fellowship Program Director, Sam Eklund

Cardiology APC fellow, Stacie Aubart, CNP

Acute Care Surgery APC Fellows, Claire Conner, PA-C, and Dakota Disher, PA-C, training in the HealthPartners Institute Clinical Simulation Center

373 educators

PA fellows

NP fellows

APC Fellowships lead to careers with HealthPartners

Since the first HealthPartners APC Fellowship program began in 2008, 77% of APC fellows have been hired upon completion of the program. Of those hired, 89% have remained with HealthPartners for at least five years.

In 2023, 93% of the graduating APC fellows were hired at HealthPartners, all in the department in which they were a fellow.

Leadership

Our team welcomed many new leaders in 2023, all of whom have been essential collaborators in growing and optimizing the APC Fellowship programs across the organization.

Central Director

Ashley Viere, PA-C

Program Directors

Kylie Flaten, PA-C – Psychiatry

Daniel Texidor, PA-C – Emergency Medicine

Danielle Johnson, PA-C – Hospital Medicine

Kim Northwick, CNP – Cardiology

Fred Rogers, MD – Acute Care Surgery

Samantha Eklund, PA-C – Urgent Care

Carla Klassen, PA-C – Neurology

Jim Cavallaro, PA-C – Orthopedics

Amy Schwartz, PA-C – Primary Care

These exciting transitions also brought bittersweet goodbyes to the pioneering APC Fellowship directors, Tracy Keizer, Ann Verhoeven, and Meredith Wold. We thank them for their innovation and dedication, which were integral in the development and success of the APC Fellowship programs.

Back row from left: Daniel Texidor, Kylie Flaten, Fred Rogers

Front row from left: Kim Northwick, Danielle Johnson, Ashley Viere

LIME-APC

Our Office of Health Professional Education hosted a second cohort of the Leadership in Medical Education (LIME) series with a focus on Advanced Practice Clinician (APC) education. Colleagues across the organization involved in APC fellow and student education connected to build community and share best practices with the goal to optimize our programs and partnerships. The first of three sessions took place in 2023 and focused on the areas of culture and leadership.

Testimonials

“I feel so privileged to have been able to complete this fellowship. My transition into practice as a nurse practitioner has been so much easier than it could have been without a fellowship. The experience that I have gained and the connections that I have developed are irreplaceable... I hope the program continues and expands to help more APCs!”

“I can’t see how I could or should be working as a PA without having had this learning experience! It left me feeling grateful this program existed and that there is such a supportive network of people willing to teach.”

“This fellowship helped bridge the gap between school and the real world. The extra support, mentoring, and training were extremely valuable in helping me become a more confident nurse practitioner. I feel so much more competent than I did prior to the fellowship.”

“I am a huge fan and promoter of our fellowship program! All the fellows we have had come through our sites have been welcomed into practice within our larger organization as they are trained and confident in their skills. This is by far the best way to onboard NP/PAs that are new to practice. Education, mentorship, and relationships set them apart in this program for advancing so much in that first year into practice.”

Thank You

The success of the APC Fellowship programs extends well beyond our team. A big thank you to all the clinicians, leaders, and administrative staff who support the programs and educate our APC fellows. We are so grateful for your partnership and look forward to continuing to work with you!

Abby Ward Central Coordinator

If you’d like to learn more about the APC Fellowship programs, please visit our website. https://healthpartnersapcfellowship.org.

Ashley Viere, PA-C Central Director