The Duke neurology advanced practice provider residency: Its time has come

Abstract

The acknowledgment that specialization in neurology based on a clinician's extensive background in neuroscience contributes to expertise in patient care was a motivating factor in developing neurology residency programs. The increasing demand for more and better access to neurologic care has created a health care environment ripe for innovation. Advanced practice providers currently do not have the opportunity during primary training to gain much experience in neurologic care. We discuss the challenges and benefits of developing a 1-year neurology residency program for nurse practitioner and physician assistant graduates at our institution. We propose that providing advanced practice providers with specialty skills through neurology residency programs such as ours will be integral to meet the growing clinical need for neurologic care.