If you’re like me, you’ve had enough of the presidential primary races. My jaded perceptions moderated a bit after a leisurely weekend with my husband — time spent puttering about the yard and working in our gardens.
So, in a more generous and relaxed frame of mind, it occurred to me that the purpose of the primary races is to give candidates the opportunity to highlight why each one of them is uniquely qualified as the best candidate for president. What a daunting task! Unfortunately, the messaging often seems to deliver equally useful information about other aspects of each candidate’s apparent values and unique qualifications. During this long primary season each candidate’s arc of success depends upon the clarity of messaging. It is all about clear delineation of desirable qualities and differentiation from the rest of the pack.
All of which got me to thinking about the National Nurse Practitioner Residency and Fellowship Training Consortium – What is unique about us? Is our message clear? Do people know what we do and why we do it? Do they believe it? Do our actions coincide with our values? When we ‘take the stage’ do people listen or do they scoff?
The Consortium is at the very beginning of its arc of success. It is less than a year old. It is on track for success and the trajectory is very favorable. The purpose is crystal clear. Its activities are professional, high quality, well-intended, socially relevant, and focused on perpetuating excellence in healthcare delivery and training. Anyway, that’s what I believe. Then I had a painful reality check the other day — my daily walking partner said, “So what is it that you do? Accreditation, isn’t that like certification? I don’t get it. Aren’t the people going into the training programs already credentialed and licensed? Don’t they just go ahead and practice? Why do they need a residency anyway? And, you know, I can never remember the name of your group…”
Which brings me back to the Consortium’s position on the arc of success and its clarity of messaging. Are the responses to these questions clear and succinct? Who is the Consortium? Why does it exist? What does it do?
The Consortium’s unique contribution to the accreditation and healthcare training world is its focus on programmatic accreditation for postgraduate NP training programs. Accreditation fosters excellence through peer review and adherence to the Accreditation Standards. NP postgraduate program directors were the founders of the Consortium. NP postgraduate program directors recognized the benefits of a peer group interested in sharing best practices and training the next generation of healthcare providers. These program directors articulated clearly the need for a national accreditation process to promote quality and foster innovation in their training programs. NP postgraduate training program directors authored the Consortium’s Accreditation Standards for their peers. They participate in on-site peer review of their programs. On a daily basis they operationalize aspirational standards of excellence into state-of-the-art postgraduate training. Through the Consortium, NP postgraduate program directors are working together to create a system of quality assurance that is recognized and valued; that the public can trust as an indicator of excellence.
Yesterday I met with one of our Board members to talk about next steps in developing our business plan. Suddenly he said “This is what it’s all about” and pointed to one of my talking points: “The Consortium offers accreditation for NP postgraduate training programs. Accreditation designed by NP postgraduate training program directors, for NP postgraduate training program directors.” That is who the Consortium is!
So, if you are an NP postgraduate program director who is looking for a peer group, or a member of the public interested in understanding more about NP postgraduate residencies and fellowships, check out our website: http://apppostgradtraining.com and our news updates: http://www.apppostgradtraining.com/About-Us/News/ArtMID/592/ArticleID/5/Updates-Whats-New
Until next time,
Candice
Executive Director
