Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Graduate Student Experiences

Advanced practice registered nurse and physician assistant students receive an unparalleled combination of educational resources and clinical experiences to prepare for careers as advanced practice providers in several specialty areas.  Please see below for the list of schools Akron Children's has educational affiliation agreements with and reach out to your school coordinator to request placement.  If your school is not on this list, we are not placing students from them at this time.

Pediatric NP

• Case Western Reserve
• Kent State University
• University of Akron

Family NP

• Kent State University
• Malone University
• Walsh University
• Youngstown State University

Neonatal NP

• Case Western Reserve
• Ohio State University

Psychiatric Mental Health NP

• Kent State University
• University of Akron
• Walsh University

PA

• Baldwin Wallace
• Case Western Reserve
• Lake Erie College
• Marietta College
• University of Mount Union

CNS

• Kent State University

Kay Heisroth
Clinical Student Placement Program Coordinator
Office: 330-543-3373
Email: kheisroth@akronchildrens.org

For Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) students, please contact anesthesia administration.

Anesthesia Administration  
Jaime Terrell, CRNA
Student Clinical Coordinator, Anesthesiology
Email: jterrell@akronchildrens.org

Undergraduate students who are applying to PA School 

1. PA shadowing inquiries should contact Kristen Breedlove, PA-C at kbreedlove@akronchildrens.org. 
2. PA shadow students may request one day as a shadowing experience in OR/inpatient and may inquire about additional hours in outpatient areas. 

The division of Psychiatry at Akron Children’s is now offering a non-ACGME one-year fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for newly graduated PMH-APRNs This unique fellowship will expose the PMH-APRN fellow to all facets of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry including community, inpatient, outpatient, and acute care via clinical rotations. Clinical experiences will incorporate the principles of diversity and inclusion to offer experiences for the PMH-APRN to work in areas serving our diverse patient population.

In addition to didactic education and clinical rotations, PMH-APRN fellows will gain experience in ethics, teambuilding, communication, quality improvement, and research. During the second six months of the fellowship program, the PMH-APRN psych fellow will select a quality improvement project and work with an identified mentor to address an issue specific to the child and adolescent health population.

Mission

To provide the PMH-APRN fellow with additional exposure to child and adolescent psychiatry with a focus on diversity and inclusion via clinical, didactic, and quality experience coupled with additional learning opportunities beyond the existing Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Onboarding Boot Camp and Clinical Orientation Pathways enabling the fellow to emerge as not just a leader in child and adolescent Psychiatric care, but overall, as an outstanding APP. Our Pediatric psych/mental health providers treat patients presenting with various behavioral and emotional conditions including but not limited to Anorexia Nervosa, Anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Self-Injury and Safety Assessments, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Bulimia Nervosa, Dysthymia, Eating Disorders, Female Athlete Triad, Phobias, PICA, and Trichotillomania.

Staffing

The Lois and John Orr Family Behavioral Health Center at ACH is staffed by pediatric psychiatrists, psychologists, Psych/Mental Health APRNs, psychiatry fellows, and mental health therapists providing services to pediatric patients with emotional and/or behavioral disorders. Mental health services include medication management, educational consultation and testing, psychological testing, individual and family counseling. The Emergency Department Behavioral Health Unit is available for patients experiencing acute mental or behavioral health problems. 

Clinical Experience

• Inpatient Psychiatry
• Partial Hospitalization/Intensive Outpatient Programs 
• Outpatient Rotations including:
• Addiction Services Program
• Gender Affirming Clinic
• Eating Disorder Program
• Community rotations with exposure to diverse populations across the region
• Emergency Department Behavioral Health Unit
• Consultative services for inpatients on medical/surgical floors 
• Neurodevelopmental Science Center rotation
• *Individual clinical experiences may vary

Didactic/Educational/Quality Experience

• Teaching rounds
• Multi-disciplinary rounds
• Educational conferences
• Morbidity and mortality conference
• Quarterly quality assurance and performance improvement
• Monthly research meeting
• Additional lectures and presentations (journal clubs, webinars, etc.) 
• Fellows will engage with Nursing and Medical Staff Quality officers and administrators

For additional information, please contact:
Laura Abels, Advanced Practice Education Coordinator
or
Don Croston, Lead APP, Division of Psychology and Psychiatry