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Program Details
The 12-month postgraduate Advanced Practice Provider Dermatology Fellowship is designed for board-certified nurse practitioners and physician assistants who have recently graduated or who have limited experience in dermatology.
The program is affiliated with Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and fellows are hired as full-time employees with benefits, including a Continuing Medical Education allowance.
The program includes a structured didactic and clinical curriculum, with a focus on demonstrating competencies specific to medical dermatology. Fellows attend daily lectures and gain hands-on experience in direct patient care through eight half-day clinical sessions per week.
Two half-day sessions are dedicated to independent study, which is vital to the success of the fellows.
Attending physicians within the department provide formal oversight and guidance throughout each patient care visit.
In addition, APP fellows are trained in various aspects of procedural dermatology, including shave and punch biopsy techniques, intralesional steroid injections, and the use of cryotherapy. While under the supervision of an attending physician, they are able to gain confidence and demonstrate competency prior to completion of the program.
Shadowing experiences in Mohs surgery, as well as other subspecialties both within and outside of the dermatology department, are available. Grand Rounds presentations and educational conferences are also built into this yearlong program.
Learn More about the Fellowship
The goals of the Advanced Practice Provider Dermatology Fellowship are to foster professional growth, promote excellence in clinical practice and develop advanced practice clinician leaders within the field of dermatology.
This transition-to-practice program allows advanced practice providers to expand their knowledge base and develop confidence in their specialty of choice, while remaining in a protected learning environment. The mentorship provided by attending physicians within the department has been integral to the success of this program, as is their commitment to a mission-based culture.
Through this program, the faculty members of Penn State’s Department of Dermatology demonstrate their passion for and commitment to training valuable and successful dermatology providers. Programs like this one emphasize a commitment to lifelong learning, a team-based approach to care and, most importantly, optimal patient outcomes.
Applications to the Advanced Practice Provider Dermatology Fellowship are generally accepted starting in November of the year prior to admission.
General Application Information
The program is affiliated with Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and fellows are hired as full-time employees with benefits, which includes a Continuing Medical Education allowance.
Applicants must be graduates of an accredited nurse practitioner or physician assistant program, and board-certified through one of the major accrediting bodies specific to their discipline. Greater than one year of clinical experience as an advanced practice clinician is preferred.
To apply for the Advanced Practice Provider Dermatology Fellowship, applicants must provide the following items:
- A personal statement, to include the applicant’s purpose in fellowship study and future professional goals as they relate to dermatology.
- An updated curriculum vitae, to include a detailed description of prior dermatology experience, if applicable.
- Minimum of three letters of recommendation, at least one from current or recent supervising physician or advanced practice provider (nurse practitioner or physician assistant).
- An application through the Human Resources website
Direct any inquiries related to the application process to:
Allison Golden, CRNP, NP-C
Director, Advanced Practice Provider Dermatology Fellowship
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
500 University Dr.
Hershey, PA 17033
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Penn State Health
Penn State Health is a multi-hospital health system serving patients and communities across 29 counties of Pennsylvania. Its mission is to improve health through patient care, research, education and community outreach.
In December 2017, the system partnered with Highmark Health to facilitate creation of a value-based, community care network in the region. The shared goal of Highmark and Penn State Health is to ensure patients in the community are within:
- 10 minutes of a Penn State Health primary care provider
- 20 minutes of Penn State Health specialty care
- 30 minutes of a Penn State Health acute care facility
Learn more about Penn State Health
Penn State Health Children’s Hospital (left), Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center (center) and Penn State Cancer Institute (right)
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
500 University Dr., Hershey, Pa., 17033 (Derry Township, Dauphin County)
- The health system’s 647-bed flagship teaching and research hospital
- The only medical facility in Pennsylvania accredited as both an adult and a pediatric Level I (highest-level) trauma center
- Dedicated surgical, neuroscience, cardiovascular, trauma and medical intensive care units
- Accredited Life Lion critical-care transport providing more than 1,100 helicopter and approximately 750 ground ambulance transports per year
- More than 1,300 faculty members and more than 650 residents and fellows
- Approximately 29,000 admissions, 73,000 emergency department visits, 1.1 million outpatient visits and 33,000 surgical procedures annually
- Designated as a Magnet hospital since 2007
Learn more about Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Penn State Health Children’s Hospital
600 University Dr., Hershey, Pa. 17033 (Derry Township, Dauphin County)
- An eight-story, 263,000-square-foot-facility built in 2013 and expanded in 2020
- 160 licensed pediatric beds, 26-bed pediatric intensive care unit and a 56-bed neonatal intensive care unit
- Level IV (highest-level) neonatal intensive care unit
- Level I quaternary (highest-level) pediatric intensive care unit
- Level I (highest-level) pediatric trauma center designation
- Intermediate care unit
- Dedicated pediatric operating rooms
- More than 150,000 pediatric outpatient visits, 20,000 pediatric emergency room visits, and approximately 5,000 pediatric patient discharges annually
Welcome to Hershey
More About Hershey
Interested in learning more about living and working in Hershey, Pa.? See details here:
Fellow wellness, including emotional, spiritual, social and physical health, is a crucial component to training and to becoming a professional, compassionate and resilient physician. Self-care is a skill which must be continually practiced and reinforced. Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health are committed to addressing wellness, with multiple resources readily available.
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Allison Golden, CRNP, NP-C
Program Director
