Page 23 - University of Martland Nursing Forum - Winter 2017

to grow our own nurse practitioners and physicians in this era of shortages in the rural areas.”
University of Maryland School of Nursing faculty assisted the process by reviewing past legislation, writing letters, meeting with legislators, and advocating in general. Shannon Idzik, DNP ’10,
MS ’03, CRNP, FAANP, associate professor and associate dean of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program, was one of those faculty. “The University of Maryland School of Nursing worked tirelessly to
see this bill become a reality,” she says. “We are committed to quality clinical experiences for our students and therefore committed to our long list of dedicated preceptors. We hope this, in some way, rewards them for their dedication to the future of Maryland.”
“This was really a grassroots effort,” Colgan explains. “We were very fortunate to have passed this on the first go-round. I have appreciated the support of the University of Maryland School of Nursing faculty in these efforts.”
Nurse practitioners play a prominent role in delivering care to underserved communities, where primary care physicians are few and far between. This is where Colgan’s health education centers play a vital role, working to enhance health care access in underserved areas of the state. “Our main reason for being is to promote a health pipeline,” he says. “How do you get health care students interested in primary care on the Eastern Shore or in Western Maryland when all their training is in Baltimore?” One way is through the new preceptorship tax credit, which is available only in underserved areas.
Michelle Clark, MSW, MPH, executive director, Baltimore Area Health Education Center, a regional center within the larger purview of Colgan’s statewide program, says that it’s a huge incentive for preceptors and “a chance to thank them in a small way.”
“You fund these really good clinicians who see it as part of their responsibility to teach the next generation,” Clark says. “The shortage of primary care in these regions is drastic. Rural practitioners have a different delivery of care; there’s not a lot of specialty care. You use your license to its fullest scope.”
Ideally, providers who choose to practice in rural areas are people who come from them, as they understand the environment, but it becomes critical to keep them connected once they’ve left those areas to pursue their education. Nurse practitioners in rural areas find themselves managing everything from chronic medical conditions to acute
care, which helps sharpen their skills
in the field. “A lot of what they’re doing
is problem-solving. You have a patient coming in with a complaint, and you have to get to the bottom of it,” says Kristy Novak, MS, assistant director of graduate clinical placements at UMSON.
Urban regions can also qualify as underserved areas, even though they may be close to major medical centers. The criteria for what constitutes “underserved” relates to the number
of licensed physicians and nurse practitioners practicing in a specific area.
Novak notes that nurse practitioner students may spend clinical hours at a community center such as the Esperanza Center in Baltimore, where immigrants to
the United States are offered health and dental services in addition to educational and legal assistance. She points out that the diversity among the patients that
the students see creates a rich learning experience and helps them to identify health trends within the community. “For most students, it’s a phenomenal experience,” she says.
But all of this clinical experience for students is reliant on the availability and willingness of preceptors, and Novak says the new tax credit is an indication that Maryland’s government recognizes the importance of preceptor service. “The state government is looking at this preceptorship as a valuable resource,” she says. “Preceptors don’t get paid for the time they spend with students. With a lot of nurses, it’s simple altruism; they want to give back, and they love what they do.”
But it requires a lot of time and energy, especially if preceptors take on more than one student. During a semester, nurse practitioner students are required to do a clinical rotation, which can run 90-225 hours.
“At any given point, we may need 200-300 preceptors to accommodate these students,” Novak says. “I’m reaching out to them every semester asking for their interest and availability to take a student. The tax credit is something that is a huge benefit to all involved.”
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SCHOOL OF NURSING 21
MIKE CIESIELSKI