Preparing Nurse Practitioner Students for Rural and Underserved Practice

Background: Rural communities face persistent challenges pertaining to healthcare access, workforce shortages, and geographic isolation. To address these issues, the Rural Ready Nurse Practitioner (RRNP) Program was established through Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Advanced Nursing Education and Workforce (ANEW) funding (Award # T94HP32889) to prepare nurse practitioners (NPs) for practice in rural and underserved areas. Purpose: The paper describes the development, implementation, and outcomes of our RRNP Program, emphasizing theoretical grounding in Rural Nursing Theory and integration of the Three R’s of Rural Readiness: Relationships, Resources, and Reinforcement. Methods: Program design involved multi-level strategies, including partnerships with rural clinical sites, integration of telehealth-based interprofessional education, and expansion of the Caring for Our Own Program (COOP) to support Indigenous graduate students. Data were drawn from HRSA tracking metrics and graduate self-reports. Results: From 2021 to 2025, 31 RRNP Scholars completed the program, with 89% of graduates employed in rural and 93% employed in underserved areas. Key educational elements included annual in person Clinical Skills Days, customized medical kits, and Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Scholars Program. Implications: The RRNP model demonstrates an evidence-based framework for preparing rural-ready nurse practitioners capable of meeting healthcare needs in (State)’s frontier and tribal communities.