A nurse practitioner residency pilot program: a journey of learning.

A collaborative team developed a year long residency experience for a staff nurse transitioning to a nurse practitioner role in the Veterans Affairs system. To assist others desiring to provide support, networking, and infrastructure to those transitioning into new roles, the authors discuss strengths and weaknesses of the pilot and lessons learned related to defining trainee versus resident, credentialing and privileging, and specific mentoring needed for the role of the nurse practitioner.