Nurse Education, Practice Quality and Retention Grants

Objectives: Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (IPCP) Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) Program: The IPCP BHI Program was initiated in July 2016 to address the significant unmet need for behavioral health services in community-based primary care settings. The IPCP BHI program expands evidence-based practices into nurse-led primary care teams to increase access to care, enhance care coordination and improve patient, family, and community outcomes in rural and underserved communities. Registered Nurses in Primary Care (RNPC) Training Program: The purpose of this four-year training program is to recruit and train nursing students and current registered nurses (RNs) to practice to the full scope of their license in community-based primary care teams to increase access to care, with an emphasis on chronic disease prevention and control, including mental health and substance use conditions. The program aims to achieve a sustainable primary care nursing workforce equipped with the competencies necessary to address pressing national public health issues, even the distribution of the nursing workforce, improve access to care and improve population health outcomes. Veteran Registered Nurses in Primary Care (RNPC) Training Program: The purpose of this three-year training program is to recruit and train veteran nursing students and current registered nurses (RNs) to practice to the full scope of their license in community-based primary care teams to increase access to care, with an emphasis on veteran care, chronic disease prevention and control, including mental health and substance use conditions. The program aims to achieve a sustainable primary care nursing workforce equipped with the competencies necessary to address pressing veteran public health issues, as well as the distribution of the nursing workforce, improve access to care and improve population health outcomes. Simulation Education Training (NEPQR-SET) Program supports projects that enhance nurse education and strengthen the nursing workforce through the expansion of experiential learning opportunities, including the use of simulation-based technology, including equipment, to advance the health of patients, families, and communities in rural and medically underserved areas experiencing diseases and conditions that affect public health such as: high burden of stroke, heart disease, behavioral and mental health, maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS and obesity. RNPC and VNPC training programs’ COVID supplemental funding supports projects that prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19 as needs evolve. This supplemental funding aims to train current health professions students and practicing clinicians to provide telehealth-enabled COVID-19 referrals for screening for testing, case management and outpatient care; or maintain primary care functionality away from physical sites, especially for COVID-19 positive, quarantined and elderly and special populations. Mobile Health Training Program (NEPQR-MHTP): The purpose of this program is to improve and strengthen health equity in the nursing workforce with education and training to provide culturally aligned quality care in rural and underserved areas. The program will encourage recruitment and training of nursing students to address and manage social determinants of health (SDOH) and improve health equity of vulnerable populations in rural and underserved areas through nurse-led mobile health training sites. The NEPQR-MHTP will create and expand experiential learning opportunities for nursing students, including the provision of high-quality culturally sensitive care, identification of SDOH in local communities, engagement in critical thinking, and clinical practice highlighting a collaborative team approach to care. Nursing Faculty and Preceptor Academies (NEPQR-CFPA) Program: The purpose of this program is to increase the nursing workforce by recruiting, training and producing skilled qualified clinical nursing faculty and nursing