by Sarah Mummert, Student Public Relations Writer
Nurse practitioner fellowships are rare. Andrea (VanMeter) Roberts, 然而, landed an internal medicine nurse practitioner fellowship with Marshall Health Internal Medicine in Huntington, 西维吉尼亚州, that led to her securing a position in 内分泌学 at Rivers Health in Gallipolis, 俄亥俄州——她的家乡.
Once accepted into the competitive 12-month fellowship, Roberts, who earned two degrees from 斯德维尔大学y — a Bachelor of Science in Nursing 2014年本科及以上学历 family nurse practitioner master’s degree eight years later — developed her clinical experience into professional experience in internal medicine subspecialities, 包括心脏病学, 内分泌学, 肺学, gastroenterology and infectious disease.
During the fellowship, Roberts joined a team of professionals who were working on applications for a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant focused on nurse practitioner 项目.
The work of the team paid off as the fellowship program at Marshall Health Internal Medicine received enough grant money to fund four fellows annually for the next four years — a significant increase from the current two-person capacity of the program. The increase in the fellowship program allows Marshall Health to 研究生 16 fellows over four years and provide a much-needed influx of health care professionals.
“This is the first HRSA grant of its kind directed at nurse practitioner fellowships and residencies, because nurse practitioner residencies and fellowships are so new,罗伯茨说。. “It was a great honor to be part of this team that is the catalyst for growth in our profession.”
As a student at Cedarville, professors often noticed her ability to be prepared for various situations. This trait continued through grad school and her fellowship.
“I’ve repeatedly had comments about my preparedness, from both my preceptors in grad school and even the CEO of the entire network I worked in with Marshall Health,罗伯茨说. “I was his nurse practitioner a couple of times, and he mentioned that he could tell I was an evidence-based provider, which was a huge compliment.”
Evidence-based practice, meaning providers back up their decisions with current research, is huge in the health care world, and it is a strong focus of Cedarville’s nursing 项目 as well.
“I was well prepared with my 本科 degree from Cedarville,罗伯茨说. “I knew that if I was going to have diagnostic and prescriptive responsibility, I wanted a 研究生 program that was going to challenge me and prepare me well, where my professors were going to care about me. So, I chose to go back to Cedarville.”
Of all her opportunities and successes, Roberts is focused on providing quality patient care that brings God all the glory.
“God is the one who has opened all of the doors for me, so it is important to deflect any praise for my successes to him,罗伯茨说。.
Located in southwest Ohio, 斯德维尔大学 is a Baptist university with 本科 项目 in arts, sciences, and professional 项目, and 研究生 项目. With an enrollment of 5,456 students in 175 areas of study, Cedarville is one of the largest private universities in Ohio and is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic 项目, 包括其 Master of Science in Nursing Family Nurse Practitioner online degree, and high graduation and retention rates. For more information about the University, visit 斯德维尔.edu.