How to Start a Nurse Practitioner Faculty Managed Clinic: Missing Components?

A serious need exists for improved access to primary care for vulnerable populations. Nurse Practitioner Faculty Managed Clinics (NPFMC) can help to alleviate this problem. The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive study was to identify and examine the beginning components necessary for implementing this inter-professional collaboration. A comprehensive literature review identified the absence of these components, which were then revealed through the interviews with founders of NPFMCs. Prior to the interviews two manuals were reviewed about the process of starting a free clinic. Questions were explored relating to the participants’ experiences in starting a NPFMC. Review of the manuals was found to be lacking in the beginning process of founding a NPFMC. Through transcription of the interviews recurrent patterns emerged forming themes. The interviews revealed unexpected and important missing components in the formation of an inter-professional collaboration in the form of a NPFMC. These components included vision which provided guidance and foresight, and tenacity which is the motivator for implementing the clinic. These non-tangible components bridge the gap to the concrete steps