Primary Care Training–Integrated Substance Use Disorder

Salaried fellowship provides graduating APRNs with broad exposure to a variety of primary care situations, with a focus on people with a substance use disorder Heading link

COIP Van

Primary Goals of the Program

  1. Develop APRN fellows into independent practitioners and scholars that can have high impact endeavors in a variety of primary care and teaching environments;
  2. Advance fellows into autonomous clinician educators who possess in-depth therapeutic knowledge in caring for people with substance use disorders; and
  3. Position fellows to be superior candidates for their desired career goals especially in primary/care substance use disorder.

The salaried fellowship is supported by a HRSA grant and is designed to provide broad exposure to variety of primary care situations with a focus on people who also have a substance use disorder. Assessment will be continual, multidisciplinary, and refined to keep pace with the fellows’ individual needs, growth, and career goals.

Fellows will provide clinical services in several settings, including the Community Outreach Intervention Program, Mile Square federally qualified health centers and the Night Ministry. Additionally, fellows will also participate in a variety of weekly interprofessional educational settings, including UIC College of Pharmacy, echo360.com, and other webinars and seminars engaging in group discussions and case presentations.

The fellowship will culminate in a scholarly project to be submitted to an evidence-based regional or national conference.

Together, these experiences will make the fellow a competitive candidate for careers in numerous primary care settings.

Application for next cohort will be available in early 2025

Requirements Heading link

  • Be a board-eligible family nurse practitioner or adult-gerontology nurse practitioner in the state of Illinois.
  • Be available for the full duration: one (1) year, starting Fall 2025; position is full time with benefits.
  • Actively participate with preceptors in clinical care, as well as academic enrichment.
  • Attend a national APRN conference, as well as submit a scholarly project to an evidence-based conference.
  • Hold a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree
  • Have an appropriate degree in hand and present evidence of experience or interest in primary care and substance use disorder leadership and practice
  • Meet all requirements for employment by the University of Illinois Chicago, which includes a background check
  • Be eligible for licensure in Illinois

Applicants must submit

  • Current CV
  • Three (3) letters of recommendation (including one from their clinical supervisor or academic mentor)
  • Application letter which:
    • Identifies their areas of interest in interprofessional team-based care, SUDs and primary prevention; and
    • Outlines career objectives to be achieved through the traineeship and a proposed plan for implementation

Apply Now

Program Directors Heading link

Program Faculty Heading link

  • Cynthia Taylor Handrup, DNP

    Clinical Assistant Professor
    Director, Primary Care Mental Health Concentration
    UIC College of Nursing

    Email: chandrup@uic.edu

    PROFILE

  • Mitchell Kordzikowski, DNP, MBA, APRN, PMHNP-BC, PMH-BC, NE-BC

    ​Clinical Practice Nurse Educator
    UIC College of Nursing

    Email:anliker2@uic.edu

    PROFILE

  • Sarah Messmer, MD

    ​Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine
    UIC College of Medicine

    Email: messmer2@uic.edu

    PROFILE

  • Claire Thesing, MD

    Assistant Professor of Clinical Family Medicine
    University of Illinois College of Medicine

    Email: cthesing@uic.edu

    PROFILE

  • Abigail Elmes

    Visiting Clinical Assistant Professor, Pharmacy Practice
    Clinical Pharmacist, Family Medicine, Pharmacy Practice
    UIC College of Pharmacy

    Email: aelmes2@uic.edu

    PROFILE

2023-24 Fellows Heading link

  • Hibo Hussein, DNP ’23, FNP-BC

  • Derek Ma, DNP ’23, FNP-BC

  • Stephanie Guerrero, DNP ’21, FNP-BC
  • Hannah Gielczyk, DNP ’22, FNP-BC
  • Hyunsoo Kim, DNP ’22, FNP-BC
  • Sooyoung Yeom, DNP ’21, FNP-BC