Participation in a nurse practitioner fellowship to instill greater confidence, job satisfaction, and increased job retention

The Institute of Medicine's The Future of Nursing report recommended the extension of nurse practitioner (NP) fellowship programs to highlight and assess competencies after completion of licensure. The initiative, "Participation in a nurse practitioner fellowship to instill greater confidence, job satisfaction, and increased job retention as nurse practitioners promptly transition from novice to expert clinician," evaluated NP satisfaction between NPs who had not completed a fellowship versus NPs who had participated in a fellowship. Transition of an NP was evaluated through the Misener Nurse Practitioner Job Satisfaction Scale via 258 NPs through Emory Healthcare, MD Anderson, DNP discussion groups, and Show Me Your Stethoscope from social media. A series of independent t-tests were performed to determine statistical significance. The results of the analyses found that individuals who had participated in an NP fellowship had significantly higher scores on a sense of value for "what you do," monetary bonuses, and compensation for services outside of normal duties and obtained statistical significance. Owing to the positive trends of the surveys, continuation of NP fellowships is recommended for a successful NP role transition to develop clinical growth, retention, leadership skills, and ultimately an expert clinician.