Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Fellow - Behavioral Health at Cone Health

The Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Fellow – Behavioral Health is a comprehensive 12-month postgraduate fellowship program designed to prepare Nurse Practitioners (NPs) and Physician Assistants (PAs) for advanced practice in psychiatric and behavioral health care across inpatient, outpatient, emergency, consult-liaison, substance use, and integrated care settings. This structured fellowship provides a protected learning environment that combines direct patient care, psychiatric subspecialty rotations, psychopharmacology development, psychotherapy exposure, interdisciplinary collaboration, simulation training, and evidence-based behavioral health practice to support the transition from training to independent psychiatric practice.

Working collaboratively with psychiatrists, advanced practice providers, psychologists, social workers, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, substance use disorder specialists, peer support professionals, and multidisciplinary behavioral health teams, the APP Fellow develops competency in psychiatric assessment, diagnostic formulation, medication management, crisis intervention, therapeutic communication, and longitudinal behavioral health care across the lifespan.

The fellowship curriculum consists of 10 months of structured core behavioral health clinical rotations focused on inpatient psychiatry, outpatient psychiatry, emergency psychiatry, consult-liaison psychiatry, substance use treatment, crisis stabilization, and integrated behavioral health care, along with 2 months of individualized elective rotations tailored to the fellow’s professional interests and career goals.

The fellowship is designed to cultivate advanced clinical reasoning, psychopharmacology expertise, trauma-informed care delivery, therapeutic communication skills, crisis management competency, ethical psychiatric practice, cultural responsiveness, and interdisciplinary behavioral healthcare collaboration. Upon completion, fellows are expected to transition seamlessly into psychiatric and behavioral health practice settings to provide compassionate, patient-centered, evidence-based mental health care.Essential Job Functions

Clinical Responsibilities

• Performs comprehensive psychiatric evaluations including mental status examinations, psychosocial assessments, suicide and violence risk assessments, diagnostic interviews, and behavioral health screenings across diverse clinical settings.
• Assesses and manages psychiatric conditions including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, trauma-related disorders, substance use disorders, personality disorders, cognitive disorders, and behavioral crises.
• Develops and implements evidence-based biopsychosocial treatment plans in collaboration with supervising psychiatrists and multidisciplinary behavioral health teams.
• Prescribes and manages psychotropic medications while monitoring therapeutic response, side effects, medication adherence, and clinical outcomes.
• Conducts crisis intervention, de-escalation, safety planning, and emergency psychiatric evaluations for patients experiencing acute behavioral health instability.
• Coordinates care with consulting specialists, nursing, pharmacy, psychology, therapy services, social work, case management, peer support services, and community behavioral health resources.
• Provides psychoeducation to patients and families regarding diagnoses, medications, coping strategies, relapse prevention, recovery planning, and community support services.
• Maintains accurate and timely documentation of patient care within the electronic medical record.
• Participates in patient management across inpatient psychiatry units, outpatient behavioral health clinics, emergency psychiatric services, consult-liaison psychiatry, substance use treatment settings, telepsychiatry, and integrated primary care environments.

Fellowship Training Responsibilities

• Participates in structured didactic lectures, psychiatric case conferences, journal clubs, psychotherapy training, simulation exercises, interdisciplinary rounds, and team-based educational activities.
• Develops foundational and advanced knowledge in psychopharmacology, psychiatric diagnosis, psychotherapy principles, trauma-informed care, addiction medicine, behavioral health integration, and crisis stabilization.
• Collaborates with multidisciplinary teams including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, substance use counselors, peer support specialists, and community health providers.
• Participates in evidence-based medicine, quality improvement initiatives, patient safety programs, utilization management, and healthcare systems-based behavioral health initiatives.
• Engages in educational, leadership, advocacy, and professional development opportunities within psychiatric and behavioral health practice.
• Develops competency in psychiatric interviewing, diagnostic formulation, medication management, therapeutic communication, behavioral crisis management, and interdisciplinary treatment planning through supervised clinical experiences.
• Participates in one-on-one preceptorships with attending psychiatrists and advanced practice providers trained in behavioral health and psychiatric medicine.

Rotational Experiences

The APP Fellow participates in a structured 12-month curriculum consisting of 10 months of core behavioral health and interdisciplinary clinical rotations and 2 months of elective clinical experiences designed to support individualized professional development, specialty interests, and advanced clinical competency in psychiatric and behavioral healthcare delivery.

Core Rotations (10 Months)

Core rotations provide immersive clinical experiences focused on psychiatric assessment, psychopharmacology, therapeutic communication, interdisciplinary collaboration, crisis intervention, and behavioral healthcare delivery across diverse patient populations and treatment settings.

Core Behavioral Health Rotations

• Inpatient Psychiatry
• Outpatient Psychiatry
• Emergency Psychiatry
• Consult-Liaison Psychiatry
• Substance Use Disorder Treatment Services
• Crisis Stabilization Services
• Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) / Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
• Integrated Behavioral Health in Primary Care
• Community Behavioral Health
• Telepsychiatry Services

Specialty Behavioral Health Rotations

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Exposure
• Geriatric Psychiatry Exposure
• Mood and Anxiety Disorder Clinics
• Psychosis and Thought Disorder Services
• Trauma and PTSD-Focused Care Programs
• Addiction Medicine
• Behavioral Health Urgent Care
• Neuropsychiatry Exposure
• Forensic Psychiatry Exposure
• Pain Psychology and Behavioral Medicine

Core rotations emphasize

• Psychiatric diagnostic formulation
• Psychopharmacology management
• Suicide and violence risk assessment
• Crisis intervention and stabilization
• Trauma-informed care delivery
• Therapeutic communication
• Substance use disorder management
• Interdisciplinary behavioral healthcare coordination
• Recovery-oriented and culturally responsive care
• Behavioral health integration across healthcare settings

Elective Rotations (2 Months)

Elective rotations allow fellows to individualize their educational experience based on career goals, clinical interests, and identified areas for advanced development. Elective experiences are selected in collaboration with fellowship leadership and supervising preceptors.

Potential elective experiences may include

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Geriatric Psychiatry
• Addiction Medicine
• Eating Disorders Program
• Behavioral Sleep Medicine
• Women’s Behavioral Health
• Trauma Recovery Programs
• Neuropsychiatry
• Forensic Psychiatry
• Integrative and Lifestyle Psychiatry
• Academic Psychiatry
• Quality Improvement and Patient Safety
• Leadership and Healthcare Administration
• Community Outreach and Population Behavioral Health
• Telepsychiatry and Digital Mental Health

Elective experiences are intended to enhance subspecialty exposure, foster professional growth, and support transition into independent advanced practice in behavioral health and psychiatric medicine.

Clinical Proficiencies

The APP Fellow may participate in supervised clinical experiences including:

• Comprehensive psychiatric assessment and diagnostic formulation
• Mental status examination development
• Psychotropic medication initiation and management
• Suicide risk assessment and safety planning
• Crisis intervention and behavioral de-escalation
• Motivational interviewing techniques
• CBT-informed supportive interventions
• Trauma-informed communication strategies
• Substance use disorder screening and management
• Group and family psychoeducation
• Interdisciplinary treatment planning
• Care transitions and community resource coordination
• Telepsychiatry and virtual behavioral healthcare delivery
• Office- and bedside-based behavioral health interventions in accordance with departmental guidelines and clinical scope

Quality Professional Responsibilities

• Identifies opportunities to improve behavioral healthcare delivery, patient safety, access to services, care coordination, and clinical outcomes.
• Participates in interdisciplinary quality improvement and patient safety initiatives.
• Demonstrates professional accountability, ethical practice, and adherence to psychiatric and behavioral health standards and evidence-based clinical guidelines.
• Promotes culturally responsive, trauma-informed, patient-centered care across diverse patient populations and complex psychosocial conditions.
• Participates in initiatives related to behavioral health integration, crisis reduction, suicide prevention, readmission reduction, and continuity-of-care improvement efforts.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Education

Required

• Master’s Degree in Nursing or Physician Assistant Studies from an accredited program.

Preferred

• Recent graduate of an accredited NP or PA program with a strong interest in psychiatry, behavioral health, addiction medicine, integrated care, or community mental health.

Experience

Required

• None

Preferred

• Prior behavioral health, psychiatric, substance use disorder, emergency medicine, primary care, inpatient, or crisis intervention experience preferred.
• Previous healthcare experience as an RN, psychiatric technician, behavioral health counselor, EMT, paramedic, social worker, medical assistant, or care coordinator preferred.

Licensure/Certification/Listing

Required

• Valid North Carolina Registered Nurse and Nurse Practitioner license OR North Carolina Physician Assistant license.
• NCCPA for Physician Assistants
• ANCC or AANP for Nurse Practitioners
• Current BLS (CPR) certification through the American Heart Association or American Red Cross.
• DEA registration eligible.

Preferred

• Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) certification eligibility or completion pathway where applicable.
• ACLS certification.
• Prior training in motivational interviewing, CBT-informed interventions, trauma-informed care, or crisis intervention preferred.