Nurse Practitioner Training With the Underserved: Building a Skilled Workforce

• Free and charitable clinics are an ideal training platform for nurse practitioner students.
• Medically complex patients provide unique opportunities for expanded competencies.
• College of nursing partnerships with community clinics expand nurse practitioner clinical placements.

The Affordable Care Act has increased access to services, but, for some individuals, insurance coverage, co-pays, or medication costs remain out of reach. For these individuals, free and charitable clinics are a vital resource. These clinics are also ideal for training nurse practitioners (NPs) with complex patients, but clinical placements are difficult because they are largely staffed with professionals who volunteer their time. In this study we report on a college of nursing partnership with free/charitable clinics that established 2 NP clinical training sites. The unique training opportunities for NP students are discussed, including the expanded competencies, barriers, and policy implications.