Ms. Cooper has served the veterans and built the academic affiliation with the Catholic University of America to develop and implement a Nurse Practitioner Post-Graduate Residency and Training Program. The program is funded by the VA Office of Academic Affiliations and is a unique initiative to increase the number of qualified NPs working in the VA who can serve our aging populations with increasingly complex health care needs.
The program offers up to 6 graduates an additional 1 year of learning and time to enhance clinical skills for 1 year adding to the clinical hours they complete during their education. The program also offers up to 12 students a year clinical rotations within the VA during their NP academic program. Faculty from the university and the VA work together with the residents and students to develop and implement evidence-based projects and nursing research to enhance patient outcomes through VA Nursing.