Residency Program Prepares Family Nurse Practitioners for Service in Under-resourced Communities
LOS ANGELES—JAN. 26, 2023—After the success of its first cohort, the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County (CCALAC), in partnership with the Chin Family Institute for Nursing (CFIN) at California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA), has launched the second cohort of the Family Nurse Practitioner Community Care Residency Program. Through the program, three newly licensed family nurse practitioners (FNPs) are receiving post-graduate training while providing much-needed services at community health centers in Los Angeles.
As California continues to grapple with a health care workforce crisis, including a shortage of primary care providers, FNPs can help close the gap. FNPs provide high quality, community-based primary care and are able to operate at a high level of autonomy without the supervision of a physician. The Family Nurse Practitioner Community Care Residency Program aims to develop a primary care provider pipeline specifically for health centers, where the workforce shortage has been especially acute. This program is one of only two such programs in LA County.
Over the course of the 12-month program, FNP residents receive intensive training and on-the-job experience that prepares them to work in community health centers. Most health center patients have low incomes, live with chronic disease, and experience housing and food insecurity. Without training and support, new FNPs may feel overwhelmed by patient load and the complex diagnoses of health center patients. The residency program bridges the gap between academia and practice, training FNPs with a desire to work in community health on how to address the specific needs of health center patients. Residents receive didactic education in areas including population-based health, quality improvement and telehealth from the top-ranked CFIN faculty at Cal State LA.
The second cohort of residents is training at two community health centers in Los Angeles: Chinatown Service Center and South Central Family Health Center. Residents are recent graduates of Cal State LA, UCLA and University of Phoenix. All are licensed FNPs who hold master’s degrees in nursing and additional certification beyond a regular nursing degree. All wish to work with under-resourced populations.
“Being born and raised in South Los Angeles, an under-resourced community, has been a daily reminder of the health inequities of underrepresented people,” said program resident Lyanne Duarte. “Observing health disparities and health inequities has been an additional motivator in pursuing a career as an FNP. I aspire to work in the primary care setting servicing under-resourced patient populations including patients with limited insurance and those whose primary language is Spanish.”
Once the program is complete in October, the host sites may extend an employment offer to residents. All residents from the first cohort are currently employed by a health center that participated as a training site.
While some community health centers receive federal funding, FNP residency programs do not. The FNP Community Care Residency Program currently receives generous support from UniHealth Foundation and the California Area Health Education Center. More funding is necessary to continue the FNP Community Care Residency Program.
“We look forward to continuing our work with CFIN and our member health centers to develop a pipeline of FNPs who have the skills, confidence and preparation to deliver high quality, culturally competent care,” said CCALAC President and CEO Louise McCarthy. “We hope that more funders – public and private – will see the value in investing in programs such as ours to train the next generation of providers committed to working in community health.”
###
About the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County
The Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County (CCALAC) is the largest regional association of community clinics and health centers in California. Founded in 1994, CCALAC has 66 members that serve more than 1.7 million patients throughout LA County. The majority of these patients live below the poverty line. CCALAC is dedicated to serving and representing the interests of its member clinics as providers of quality health care, including medical, dental and pharmacy services. For more information about CCALAC, visit www.ccalac.org or call (213) 201-6500.
About the Chin Family Institute for Nursing at Cal State LA
California State University, Los Angeles is the premier comprehensive public university in the heart of Los Angeles. Cal State LA is ranked number one in the United States for the upward mobility of its students. Cal State LA is dedicated to engagement, service, and the public good, offering nationally recognized programs in science, the arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education, and the humanities. Founded in 1947, the University serves more than 26,000 students and has more than 250,000 distinguished alumni.
The Chin Family Institute for Nursing at Cal State LA was created as a result of a philanthropic gift by Drs. Patricia and William Chin in 2016. Dr. Patricia Chin was a professor and director of the now named Patricia A. Chin School of Nursing. The mission of the Chin Family Institute for Nursing focuses on the advancement of nursing education, advocacy, leadership, and action. The Institute serves as a center for nursing excellence with an emphasis on caring for diverse, underserved urban populations. For more information, visit www.CalStateLA.edu.
Media Contact
Taryn Burks, Communications Specialist
Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County
e: tburks@ccalac.org | t: (213) 201-6529