Career Impact of Palliative Care Fellowship Training for Nurse Practitioners.

Abstract

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Postgraduate fellowship training for nurse practitioners (NP) in palliative care can ameliorate workforce shortages; however, currently there are few NP fellowships and little evidence about outcomes, such as retention in hospice and palliative nursing, job satisfaction, or professional contributions. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> To describe the impact of palliative care fellowship training on the careers of NP alumni. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A survey was electronically distributed to all NP alumni of an interprofessional palliative care fellowship since adult and pediatric nursing cohorts were added (2009-2022). <b><i>Results:</i></b> Most respondents still worked in hospice and/or palliative care; a majority of them engaged in professional activities beyond clinical work and reported high career satisfaction. Alumni endorsed multiple benefits of postgraduate fellowship except for post-fellowship compensation. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> NP palliative care fellowship alumni reported multiple career benefits including job satisfaction, professional accomplishment, and ongoing employment at their training institutions.