Vim & Vigor - Winter 2017 - North Mississippi - 51

having a collaborative physician agreement in place. Many nurse practitioners
go straight to work in a clinic or another
setting. NMMC's fellowship program
offers another option-one in which
nurse practitioners get in-depth experience in a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings under direct supervision
before transitioning into a private
clinical practice.
"When I went into it, I didn't know
how beneficial it would be. What I have
learned has been invaluable," Marecle
says. "I have been a nurse for a long
time. This has been one of the best
things I've ever done."
NMMC recently launched its third fellowship class. The first class graduated
six fellows, while the second and third
have 10 each. Cagle says fellows develop
a wide range of skills, from becoming
certified to perform Department of
Transportation physicals to learning
from rural trauma specialists at the Elvis
Presley Trauma Center in Memphis. "We
also take full advantage of the leadership training offered through NMMC,"
she says.
Early on, fellows spend a week at the
Global Training Institute in Canton,
Below, nurse practitioners Rosemary Marecle
and Deanna Sanders at Verona Medical Clinic.

where they get hands-on experience
with cadavers. "We practiced skills that
we had been taught in the classroom,
such as suturing, applying a cast and
removing a fish hook," Marecle says.
After spending the first month in the
classroom, fellows are assigned to preceptors throughout NMMC, usually for
a month at a time. "We focus on areas
that treat common conditions seen in
Mississippi, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression and chronic
pain. We seek to have each APC fellow
be able to safely and competently care
for patients in primary care settings, as
well as how to appropriately refer to and
interact with various specialists," Cagle
says. Each Friday, the fellows come back
together for classroom training.
"We rotate with a different preceptor
each month in a different specialty, so
you get to learn how they treat different
conditions," Marecle says. "When you
finish there, you are really up to date on
current practices." She spent time working with specialists in urology, oncology,
rheumatology, diabetes, pain management and family practice.
Spending time with specialists helps
the nurse practitioners learn the most
current treatment regimens, when
referrals are necessary, and how to
best prepare a patient to see a specialist. "They learn about medications and
tests associated with each condition,"
Cagle says. "They learn how to maximize the care provided in the primary
care setting while developing a network
of contacts to seamlessly transition a
patient to a specialty area if needed."

Moving Forward

Unlike Marecle, Farris Burns of
Columbus was still a relatively new
nurse when he became a nurse practitioner. After earning an associate
degree in nursing from Mississippi
University for Women in 2011, he joined
the NMMC nursing staff. A few years
later he enrolled in the University of
Mississippi Medical Center's "RN to

FELLOWSHIP
FACTS
* Any nurse practitioner or physician

assistant within 18 months of graduation
may apply.
* The fellowship runs Oct. 1-Sept. 30
each year.
* Fellows are paid an RN salary
throughout the program.
* Applications for the October 2018 fellowship open Feb. 1, and the deadline
for applications is June 1. For more
information, visit www.nmhs.net/
apc_fellowship.php.

MSN" program, allowing him to earn
his master's degree in three years while
continuing to work throughout graduate school.
The NMMC fellowship program was
a great way for Burns to stay on as an
NMMC employee and earn a salary
while completing the 720 required hours
with a preceptor. His clinical rotations
included cardiology, pain management,
psychiatry, inpatient diabetes management, hospitalists, infectious disease
and family practice.
"The fellowship has really boosted my
overall confidence level. You touch on
some of it in school, but through this
program you gain in-depth knowledge
and exposure," Burns says. "The contacts I have made are also very beneficial. It has helped me learn what tests to
order, really augmenting what I learned
in school."
NMMC employs more than 200 nurse
practitioners in affiliated hospitals
and clinics throughout the region. The
majority of fellows have stayed with the
organization after program completion.
Burns says he recommends NMMC's
fellowship to any new nurse practitioner.
"I hope in the future that fellowships and
residencies will be required to practice,"
he says. "It helps to elevate our profession even higher by requiring experience
when you get out of school." ■
W INT E R 2 01 7

http://www.nmhs.net/apc_fellowship.php http://www.nmhs.net/apc_fellowship.php

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Winter 2017 - North Mississippi