Postgraduate fellowship education and training for nurses: the NET SMART experience.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Stroke Management
• Neuroscience Nursing

Background:

• Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) require specialized training in complex areas like neurovascular care.
• Existing physician fellowship models are not always adaptable to nursing postgraduate education.
• A flexible, internet-based platform can overcome geographical and time constraints for APN training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development and implementation of the NET SMART fellowship program for APNs.
• To evaluate the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of an academic, online postgraduate fellowship in neurovascular care.
• To establish a template for creating similar specialized nursing fellowship programs.

Main Methods:

• The NET SMART program was modeled after physician academic fellowships.
• A flexible, internet-based platform was utilized for program delivery.
• The program focused on stroke management and acute reperfusion therapy for APNs.

Main Results:

• The NET SMART program successfully provided a unique academic postgraduate fellowship for APNs.
• Preliminary results indicate the program's effectiveness in delivering specialized neurovascular training.
• The program's structure offers a viable template for other nursing specialty fellowships.

Conclusions:

• The NET SMART program represents a novel approach to advanced neurovascular nursing education.
• Academic postgraduate nursing fellowships supported by online platforms are feasible and effective.
• This model can be adapted to develop specialized training programs for nurses in various fields.