Akron Children’s Nurse Practitioner Kate Root successfully completed the first “Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Transition to Practice” pilot program. The goal: get newly graduated nurse practitioners (NPs) acclimated and working sooner.
“When we hire an NP with years of experience, onboarding is pretty easy. They just have to learn our culture, systems and computer charting,” said Sharon Juszli from Akron Children’s Pediatrics in Stow, who has been an Akron Children’s NP for 14 years. “Onboarding a new NP graduate is more challenging because they don’t have the practice experience. They’re onboarding not only into a new culture and a new charting system, but they’re also having to learn their new role as a provider.”
Sharon Juszli shares her 14 years of experience with NP Kate Root, when helping with the “Transition to Practice” pilot program.
Another barrier to getting new NPs into their roles is waiting several months for credentialing. “Jenny Michel, director of the Akron Children’s Advanced Practice Center, asked what we could do with that wait time,” Sharon recalled. “Could we find a way to get new NPs working sooner, so they could hit the ground running once credentialing is complete? That question led to the APP Transition to Practice pilot program.”
Kate – initially an RN from Akron Children’s Pediatrics, Alliance – seemed like the perfect candidate for the pilot program. “I always wanted to be an NP. It just took me a while to get here because I waited until my kids were a little older before pursuing my graduate degree,” she said. “I was approached about the APP Transition to Practice program when I started talking to Akron Children’s Recruitment about NP job opportunities after I graduated.”
Kate earned a pediatric primary care nurse practitioner degree from Kent State University in May 2024. “She took and passed her boards in July – and started her transitional role in the pilot program immediately,” Sharon explained. “We assigned a preceptor – Kate’s co-worker Kellie Hays at the Alliance office – and Kate started shadowing. That enabled her to get familiar with systems and charting, plus observe how an NP provides patient care.”
In addition to shadowing in her primary care office, Kate shadowed NPs in specialty departments including Adolescent Medicine; Ear, Nose and Throat; Dermatology; Pulmonology; and Sports Medicine. “I asked questions about certain conditions we see frequently in primary care. I got advice on what could be managed in primary care and when I should refer to the specialty office,” she shared. “In addition to the knowledge I gained, I made professional connections with other NPs throughout the organization.”
Sharon also mentored Kate. “Sharon has been very impactful on my experience in the pilot program and in my practice as a NP, as both a preceptor and colleague,” Kate said. “I was in contact with Sharon frequently – including check-in meetings, precepting days, shadowing days and emails. Sharon was extremely supportive of me as a new provider, and she ensured I wasn’t feeling too rushed or overwhelmed.”
The APP Transition to Practice pilot worked. “Kate did the shadowing and learned our processes before she actually started to work as an NP, so we shaved off 4 weeks,” Sharon said. “Then, Kate started seeing her own patients about 4 weeks ahead of NPs who go through our traditional precepting role. That’s two months of time saved, so Kate could start caring for patients sooner.”
Not only did Kate get up to speed faster, but she felt well-prepared for her new NP role. “To start shadowing and training as soon as I passed my board exam, instead of waiting until I was credentialed, allowed me to gain confidence and knowledge as opposed to having to continue in my RN role for months until the credentialing process completed,” she explained.
Sharon looks forward to trying the APP Transition to Practice pilot program again. “Hospital leadership has been very forward-thinking with this pilot program, and it’s been a team effort,” Sharon said. “Jenny Michel and Brian Dinger, vice president of the primary care network, worked together to figure out how can we do this because we never had an NP start before they’re fully credentialed. Hopefully, we will have continued success with this program, we’ll publish our study findings and improve the onboarding process for new NPs.”
