Guide to NP Specialty Fellowships
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Nurse practitioner (NP) fellowships are postgraduate programs that help NPs gain proficiency in a particular specialty. There’s a gap between the electives taken in one’s MSN or DNP program and the skills needed to work in a subspecialty area; fellowships fill it.
These programs blend didactic learning with semi-supervised clinical hours, and fellows often earn a salary or stipend while gaining valuable experience in their chosen sub-specialty. While not a requirement to practice, fellowships are an increasingly popular path for NPs, and a symptom of the role’s continued maturation and growing sophistication.
The fellowship model is still relatively new for NPs. Generally speaking, the smaller the specialty, the fewer placements available. Fellowships are also, by their nature, tethered to a specific geographic location, and most do not offer relocation benefits. However, those who complete a specialty fellowship will be ushered into a distinct class of nursing, with the skills and experience needed to take on leadership roles in their chosen field and preferred location.
Applying for NP Specialty Fellowships
Most NP specialty fellowships seek recent NP graduates, but some are also available to practicing NPs looking to transition into specialty care. Specific admissions requirements will vary from program to program, though they typically include board certification; state licensure in the fellowship’s home state; graduation from an accredited NP program; letters of reference; and a personal statement. Specialty experience is often not a requirement but can be a plus.
Fellowships are a mix between education, training, and employment. They are often intense. Almost all fellows will be expected to complete at least 40 hours of clinical practice every week; didactic learning, simulation labs, case presentations, quality improvement exercises, and professional development can add to the workload. Note that many fellowships are also open to other advanced practice providers (APPs), particularly physician assistants (PAs), and overlap with many of the fellowships and residencies offered by medical schools for physicians; skills in interprofessional collaboration are crucial.
Application windows vary from fellowship to fellowship. Some fellowships operate on a rolling basis, while others have a fixed schedule. The application process also can include personal interviews, which may require additional preparation. Application windows can be slim, so it can benefit potential fellows to plan ahead. Don’t hesitate to reach out to potential fellowships with questions.
NP Fellowships in Acute Care
The OhioHealth Acute Care APP Fellowship is for NPs pursuing a career in acute care specialties such as critical care, trauma, cardiovascular services, and hospital medicine. It provides fellows with over 1,400 hours of clinical experience and procedural training in arterial lines, intubations, and chest tubes. The extensive curriculum of didactic education and experiential learning takes advantage of high-quality clinical simulation and formal debriefings that contribute to over 90 hours of continuing medical education (CME).
- Location: Columbus, OH
- Duration: Ten to 12 months
- Application Deadline: February 28, 2023 (Cohort 1); June 30, 2023 (Cohort 2)
- Start Date: August 2023 (Cohort 1); January 2024 (Cohort 2)
- Compensation: Competitive salary and benefits
NP Fellowships in Cardiology
University of Washington Medical Center
The UWMC Cardiovascular Advanced Practice (CV APP) Fellowship is for APPs seeking to develop skills across the entire spectrum of the cardiovascular specialty. This is billed as an intense and comprehensive program, covering a wide range of areas: from advanced heart failure, to cardiothoracic surgery, to electrophysiology, to structural heart disease.
Fellows will gain experience performing cardiovascular exams, providing point-of-care echocardiography, developing patient treatment plans, and managing ventricular assist devices.
- Location: Seattle, WA
- Duration: 12 months
- Application Deadline: May 1, 2023
- Start Date: November 1, 2023
- Compensation: Competitive salary and benefits
NP Fellowships in Critical Care
Duke University School of Medicine
The Duke University Critical Care NP/PA Fellowship trains fellows to become highly proficient in collaborative, multidisciplinary, evidence-based management of critically ill patients in various intensive care settings.
Fellows will be exposed to patients with complex surgical and medical conditions and learn to manage all aspects of their care, including fluid resuscitation; pressor use; ventilator management; antibiotic use; and invasive and noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring. The program suits new NP graduates and practicing NPs looking to transition into critical care.
- Location: Durham, NC
- Duration: 12 months
- Application Deadline: April 1
- Start Date: September 1
- Compensation: Competitive salary and benefits
NP Fellowships in Emergency Care
The SUNY Upstate Emergency Nurse Practitioner Fellowship Program trains family NPs to provide high-quality, evidence-based emergency care to patients across the lifespan. Fellows will participate in weekly morning lectures alongside emergency medicine resident physicians.
Clinical rotations cover many areas, including stroke, burns, orthopedics, toxicology, addiction medicine, and psychology. Upon completion, fellows can sit for the AANP’s emergency nurse practitioner (ENP-C) exam.
- Location: Syracuse, NY
- Duration: 12 months
- Application Deadline: June 2023
- Start Date: January 2024
- Compensation: Competitive salary and benefits
NP Fellowships in Family Medicine
Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences
The Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences offers an intense and comprehensive NP Family Medicine Fellowship at its Arizona campuses. The curriculum’s didactic learning and clinical experience incorporate the foundational aspects of the Mayo Clinic: excellence in patient care, education, and research.
Fellows will gain a deep and broad knowledge base of disease processes, enabling them to provide family-focused health services to patients of all ages.
- Location: Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ
- Duration: 12 months
- Application Deadline: May 31, 2023
- Start Date: October 2023
- Compensation: $68,000 plus benefits
NP Fellowships in Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Johns Hopkins Gastroenterology and Hepatology NP Fellowship Program provides graduates the skills and knowledge necessary to provide high-quality care in the specialty of gastroenterology and hepatology.
Fellows will gain both inpatient and outpatient experience, with subspecialty exposure to areas such as inflammatory bowel disease; pancreatic diseases; gastrointestinal oncology; transplant hepatology; and nutrition. The didactic curriculum includes weekly conferences and monthly morbidity and mortality conferences.
- Location: Baltimore, MD
- Duration: 12 months
- Application Deadline: March 1, 2023
- Start Date: August/September 2023
- Compensation: $50,000 plus benefits
NP Fellowships in Neonatal Care
University of Rochester Medical Center
The URMC APP Fellowship in Neonatology is 75 percent clinical and 25 percent didactic, including side-by-side education with UR Medicine’s pediatric residency and neonatal fellowship.
Fellows will learn a wide range of procedures, including endotracheal intubations; placement of umbilical arterial catheters; placement of PICC lines; and lumbar puncture. Experiences are spread across the Golisano Children’s Hospital Level IV NICU, Newborn Nursery, and Birthing Centers.
- Location: Rochester, NY
- Duration: 12 months
- Application Deadline: March 1, 2023
- Start Date: September 2023
- Compensation: Competitive salary and benefits
NP Fellowships in Neuroscience
The APP Fellowship in Neurology at Dartmouth Health provides NPs with a solid foundation in the management of outpatient, hospital-based, and critically ill neurology patients. Fellows work in team-based environments, caring for a diverse range of patients with complex neurological disorders.
Opportunities for subspecialization include child neurology; clinical research; neuro oncology; neurological trauma; and neurosurgery. Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) has been recognized as high-performing in neurology care and stroke by US News & World Report.
- Location: Lebanon, NH
- Duration: 12 months
- Application Deadline: February 19, 2023
- Start Date: July
- Compensation: Competitive salary and benefits
NP Fellowships in Oncology
University of Miami, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
The Hematology/Oncology NP Fellowship at the University of Miami is dedicated to developing leaders through the education, mentoring, and training of NPs who will enhance the health of diverse communities.
The fellowship offers training in three specialized tracks: hematology and oncology; adult stem cell transplant and cellular therapy; and clinical research. The program consists of 41 weeks of clinical rotations and eight weeks of specialty focus; didactic learning occurs continuously.
- Location: Miami, FL
- Duration: 12 months
- Application Deadline: TBD
- Start Date: TBD
- Compensation: Competitive salary and benefits
NP Fellowships in Orthopedics
Emory University School of Medicine
Thee Emory Orthopedic and Spine NP/PA Post Graduate Fellowship Program prepares fellows to become highly skilled in the management of patients in general orthopedics, upper extremity, lower extremity, sports medicine, spine, and orthopedic oncology.
Fellows will be exposed to clinical and surgical settings, with collaboration a key focus. Subspecialty rotations include trauma; rheumatology; neurology; infectious disease; and plastics.
- Location: Atlanta, GA
- Duration: 12 months
- Application Deadline: November 11, 2023
- Start Date: TBD
- Compensation: Competitive salary and benefits
NP Fellowships in Palliative Care
The Hospice and Palliative Care NP Fellowship Program at Michigan Medicine aims to promote excellence in palliative care education, to develop experts in the field, and to ensure patients with serious illnesses receive evidence-based, high-quality, patient-centered care. Fellows will engage with other NPs, faculty, and medical teams to raise awareness about palliative care as a growing NP subspecialty.
Michigan Medicine and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System (VAAAHS) have fostered a robust palliative care clinical structure and physician fellowship educational structure; NP fellows will inherit both.
- Location: Ann Arbor, MI
- Duration: 12 months
- Application Deadline: February 6, 2023
- Start Date: July 3, 2023
- Compensation: Competitive salary and benefits
NP Fellowships in Pediatric Care
The APP Fellowship Program at Seattle Children’s supports both newly graduated NPs and NPs with limited pediatric experience in successfully entering a complex, highly collaborative pediatric setting. Fellows will work in inpatient, ambulatory clinics, diagnostic and surgical areas, critical care, emergency departments, and urgent care.
Seattle Children’s employs over 400 APPs in various pediatric specialties and subspecialties, and the fellowship has three cohorts per year and accepts ten candidates per cohort.
- Location: Seattle, WA
- Duration: 12 months
- Application Deadline: May 15, 2023 (Cohort 1); September 18, 2023 (Cohort 2)
- Start Date: September 15, 2023 (Cohort 1); January 22, 2024 (Cohort 2)
- Compensation: $105,000 plus benefits
NP Fellowships in Psychiatric Mental Health
University of California, San Diego
The Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) Postgraduate Child-Adolescent Psychiatric (CAP) Fellowship Program at UCSD fosters a balance between theory and clinical experience in evaluating and treating youth and their families.
Rotational site options include inpatient, residential, and short-term crisis stabilization; emergency, urgent, consult, and walk-in; PHP/IOP; and special populations (i.e., eating disorders, forensic, transient youth). Each will include a mix of direct onsite and indirect telephone or tele-video supervision facilitated by experienced psychiatric providers.
- Location: La Jolla, CA
- Duration: 12 months
- Application Deadline: March 10, 2023
- Start Date: November 6, 2023
- Compensation: Competitive salary and benefits
NP Fellowships in Surgical Care
The UC Davis advanced practice fellowship program is designed to support new NPs as they transition into practice. Fellows can choose from several specialty tracks, which include: trauma/acute care surgery; neurological surgery; and burn surgery. In addition to clinical experiences, fellows will complete specialized didactic courses, participate in online learning modules, and attend simulation training from UC Davis Health’s state-of-the-art center for virtual care.
- Location: Sacramento, CA
- Duration: 12 months
- Application Deadline: August 1, 2023
- Start Date: January 2, 2024
- Compensation: $90,000 plus benefits
NP Fellowships in Transplant Services
Duke University Medical Center
The Abdominal Transplant Fellowship for APPs at DUMC is for both new NPs and experienced acute care NPs interested in working in abdominal transplants. Fellows will work alongside experienced transplant APPs, surgeons, physicians, and other multidisciplinary care team members. The curriculum focuses on kidney and pancreas transplantation before moving to liver and intestinal transplantation.
- Location: Durham, NC
- Duration: 12 months
- Application Deadline: April 1, 2023
- Start Date: September 1, 2023
- Compensation: Competitive salary and benefits
NP Fellowships in Urology
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
The Urology NP Fellowship at VUMC exposes fellows to all areas of urology, including outpatient clinics and procedures, inpatient services, and the operating room. In addition to general urology, fellows will explore multiple subspecialties, such as endourology, voiding dysfunction, pelvic floor reconstruction, men’s health, urologic oncology, and neuro-urology.
The first eight months of the fellowship are spent rotating through different subspecialties; the last four months place the fellow in their own independent clinic with mentored oversight.
- Location: Nashville, TN
- Duration: 12 months
- Application Deadline: TBD
- Start Date: TBD
- Compensation: Competitive salary and benefits
NP Fellowships in Women’s Health
Atrium Health Center for Advanced Practice
The Atrium Health APP Fellowship in Women’s Health provides NPs with general obstetrics and gynecology training. In addition to foundational knowledge and skills, fellows gain exposure to subspecialty areas such as reproductive endocrinology; maternal-fetal medicine; urogynecology; and gynecologic oncology. The curriculum offers diverse experiences across inpatient, outpatient, operative, and perioperative environments.
- Location: Charlotte, NC
- Duration: 12 months
- Application Deadline: September 15, 2023
- Start Date: Spring 2024
- Compensation: Competitive salary and benefits
Matt Zbrog
WriterMatt Zbrog is a writer and researcher from Southern California. Since 2018, he’s written extensively about the modern nursing workforce, conducting hundreds of interviews with nurse leaders, nurse educators, and nurse advocates to explore the issues that matter to them most. His Advocates to Know series focuses on nurse practitioners (NPs) who go above and beyond in changing policy and practice in important areas like veteran’s care, human trafficking prevention, and telehealth access. He regularly collaborates with subject matter experts from the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) to elevate issues that empower nurses everywhere.