Core curriculum and competencies: A multisite analysis of postgraduate training programs for primary care nurse practitioners.

The Institute of Medicine and the Affordable Care Act recommend intensified development and expansion of postgraduate training programs (residencies/fellowships) for primary care providers, including nurse practitioners. There is a paucity of literature regarding this innovative training medium for nurse practitioners. The purpose of this descriptive quality improvement project was to identify and characterize the core curricular learning outcomes among primary care postgraduate training programs for nurse practitioners. Semi-structured interviews with program directors across nine sites revealed 12 principal learning outcomes that represented a shared core curriculum among programs. The core curriculum was then mapped to nurse practitioner competencies from two leading nurse professional organizations. Despite the vast differences in programs' developmental stages, findings indicated concordance among program sites and between the core curriculum and the leading professional competencies. The information presented in this article serves to enhance the work of stakeholders involved in developing and standardizing nurse practitioner postgraduate training programs in primary care.

Building holistic HIV/AIDS responses in African American urban faith communities: a qualitative, multiple case study analysis.

Holistic prevention strategies are increasingly more effective in eradicating the national human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) health crisis, which disproportionately affects African Americans. Faith communities have been integral in advancing African American community welfare; however, little is understood about their evolving role in HIV prevention. This article reports the findings from a study conducted in Washington, DC, that identifies the factors that shape the holistic development of HIV/AIDS-prevention programs within African American faith communities. By providing policy recommendations, the research illuminated a useful theoretic framework and opportunities to more holistically address current social and structural challenges in prevention efforts among faith-health leaders in similar environments.