Nurse Practitioner Residency – Holyoke Health Center

Accepting applications on a rolling basis for 2026–2027 cohorts!

The sooner you apply, the sooner you may be invited to interview.

Would you like to learn more about our program? Please add your contact info at the bottom of the page!

Application close: April 6, 2026 | Interview Day: April 15, 2026

Nurse Practitioner Residency Program

As of April 14, 2023, our NP Residency Program is fully accredited by the Consortium for Advanced Practice Providers. Accreditation is a rigorous process that ensures our residency meets the highest standards of quality and expertly prepares our graduates to meet the diverse healthcare needs of their patients.

The HHC NP Residency Program is in the process of re-accreditation through the Consortium for Advance Practice Providers. If you would like to provide public comment as part of our Accreditation Process, please visit the Accreditation Status and Public Comment Website.

The Holyoke Health Center’s Nurse Practitioner Residency is a 12-month program providing intensive training in both the clinical complexity of family practice in the safety net setting and training to a high performance, patient-centered medical home model for primary care.

The program is specifically intended for new nurse practitioners who are committed to developing careers as primary care providers in the challenging setting of community health centers and other safety net settings.

The residency is a full-time, 12-month salaried position with a one-year employment commitment after completion of the program. The program structure includes precepted primary care sessions, specialty rotations, mentored independent clinics, didactic sessions and quality improvement.

Program details

We’re training the residents to Holyoke Health Center’s model of high-performance health care: advanced access scheduling, planned care, the chronic care model, integrated behavioral health/primary care, and a team-based approach, with expert use of health information technology and the electronic health record.

The residency year begins with an intensive orientation to Holyoke Health Center, the neighborhoods in which the training sites are located, and the health problems of the target population. The orientation includes walking tours of neighborhoods, tours of the two Holyoke Health Center sites, meetings with community leaders, technical training on the electronic health record, and orientation by our chief medical officer on the responsibilities and privileges of medical staff participation at Holyoke Health Center.

The Holyoke Health Center Nurse Practitioner Residency Training Program is committed to recruiting, training and retaining new nurse practitioners to prepare them with the clinical training and experience necessary to deliver the full scope of adult and pediatric primary care services to promote highly effective, competent and autonomous clinicians committed to caring for an underserved, medically complex patient population.

Director of NP Residency Program
Emily Graef, FNP
Emily.Graef@hhcinc.org

Clinical Administrative Assistant and NP Residency Coordinator:
Marisol Morales
Marisol.Morales@hhcinc.org

Precepted Continuity Clinics:
(4 sessions/week) These are the cornerstone of the residency. In precepted clinics, the NP residents develop their own patient panel while having an expert Holyoke Health Center primary care provider (MD or APRN) exclusively assigned to them.
Specialty Rotations:
(2 sessions/week x 1/month) Specialty rotations in areas of high-volume/high burden/high-risk situations most commonly encountered in the setting of the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). Rotations may include, but not limited to: Dermatology, Reproductive & Sexual Health, Pediatrics, HIV care, Behavioral Health, Office Based Addiction Treatment (OBAT) for substance dependence, Nephrology, Diabetes Education, Psychopharmacology, and Orthopedics.
Mentored Clinics:
(2 sessions/week) During mentored clinics, the NP residents work as a member of a team and see patients at the delegation of the primary care providers, who remain available for consultations. The focus is on the practice of episodic and acute care visits.
Didactic Education Sessions:
(1 session/week) Formal learning sessions on various complex clinical challenges most commonly encountered in FQHCs. The content of the presentations are planned to correspond to the residents’ current clinical experiences.
Quality Improvement Training:
(1 session/week) Training on Holyoke Health Center’s quality improvement model, including clinical microsystems and facilitation as well as leadership development.
Evaluations:
The Holyoke Health Center Nurse Practitioner Residency Program provides an ongoing multi-input evaluation component using qualitative and quantitative measures.

The Nurse Practitioner Residency in Practice and Community Health has the following goals:

Recruit high-quality Nurse Practitioner (NP) candidates for Holyoke Health Center (HHC) residency program
Provide new FNPs with the depth, breadth, volume, and intensity of clinical training necessary to serve as primary care providers (PCPs) in the complex setting of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs).
Improve the clinical skills, confidence, productivity, and job satisfaction of new NPs who choose to work in underserved community settings.
Train new NPs to a model of primary care consistent with the National Academy of Medicine (NAM, formerly Institute of Medicine—IOM)’s principles of health care and the needs of high-need and vulnerable populations.
Increase the number of NPs ready to serve in leadership roles in community health settings.
Increase access to quality primary care for the underserves and special populations by training NPs in a FQHC-based residency program that prepares residents for the full and autonomous expert care of complex underserved populations across all life cycles and in multiple settings.

Applicants must be recent graduates (no more than 24 months) from an accredited Masters or DNP program, licensed (MA APRN) and credentialed (NP-C) or license/credential-eligible as NP, bilingual candidates (English/Spanish) strongly preferred, with a stated commitment to practice as a primary care provider in a Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) or other safety net settings.

Period of Appointment: 12 months; August to September
Competitive program stipend.
Competitive Full-Time Second-Year Salary
Eligible for sign-on bonus after completion of program.
Benefits: Approximately 2 weeks of vacation, 6 days of sick leave, 2 personal days, and 11 federal holidays. Health and dental insurance are included. Parking is provided.
Residents may be eligible for loan repayment.

There are three positions.

Are you curious about what living in the Pioneer Valley is like? Check out:
Explore Western Mass
Explore Holyoke

Purpose of the Information Session:

The Nurse Practitioner Residency Information Session offers an overview of the Holyoke Health Center’s fully accredited 12-month program. Participants will have the opportunity to meet Residency Director Emily Graef, FNP, and learn how the program supports new Nurse Practitioners in the transition to independent clinical practice. The session will highlight training opportunities, mentorship, and the program’s commitment to preparing highly competent clinicians dedicated to providing comprehensive primary care to underserved and medically complex populations.

Interested in learning more? Our next Info Session is coming soon. Stay tuned for details!

Please email npresidency@hhcinc.org if you have further questions.

When do I start?

Early September, specific details to follow.

What about my boards? When do I need to take them?

Boards should be completed by July 1st.

Im not an FNP but an ANP can I apply?

Yes.

I have more questions, how can I ask them?

Please email npresidency@hhcinc.org if you have further questions.

How to Apply

The following items are required to complete the application process for the Holyoke Health Center Nurse Practitioner Residency Program:

Holyoke Health Center Residency Application – DOWNLOAD HERE
Curriculum vitae
Official graduate school transcripts
Three (3) letters of recommendation or three (3) professional references
Personal statement and responses to essay questions (complete in application)

The NP Residency application can be submitted electronically. Download the application PDF, complete all fields, save, and attach to email, along with the required items.

Electronic applications should be submitted to npresidency@hhcinc.org

Applicants who are chosen as residency candidates will be notified to participate in an interview process. Applicants who are recent graduates are encouraged to sit for boards and apply for licensure in Massachusetts ASAP to expedite credentialing.

Interested in Learning More?

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