The project objectives include: 1) Increase the number of rural primary care clinical placements for the Doctor of Nursing Practice and Master of Science in Nursing nurse practitioner programs by providing 30 longitudinal placements in academic-practice partnerships with the Alveda E. Lutz Veterans Administration Medical Center in Saginaw, Michigan; Memorial Medical Associates in Owosso, Michigan;
Traverse Health Clinic in Traverse City, Michigan; and other similar rural practice settings over years 1-2 of the grant; 2) Provide and evaluate preceptor training in assessment, teaching, and evaluation of students in the DNP and MSN programs via use of online preceptor training modules with learning assessment measures and other preceptor training initiatives as appropriate; 3) Evaluate the DNP and MSN student theory and clinical learning experiences for increased effectiveness in primary care management of rural patients via pre- and post-clinical placement knowledge and satisfaction surveys of both students and preceptors in clinical sites; 4) Evaluate the rural academic-practice partnerships and make quarterly improvements (provider knowledge levels and patient, student, and preceptor satisfaction, etc.) in the learning experience using the plan, do, study, act model; 5) Increase the number of NP graduates who practice with rural populations from baseline year 1 at 12% through grant year 2 to 20% by requiring students in the new clinical practice placements to sign commitment letters to practice in these rural areas and other initiatives; 6) Provide 30 students (10 designated for minority students) placed in rural academic-practice partnership settings with $22,000 in funding to assist with education costs over the two grant years, and 7) Disseminate findings related to the project for replication via grant website in years 1-2 and conference presentations and publications by nursing faculty, MSN and DNP students, and others in year 2.