Video, photos and article by Allison Long

This summer, Jennifer Krawczyk, MS, APRN, helped USF Health break new ground.

Krawczyk in June 2019 became the first graduate of USF Health’s Advanced Practice Provider Neurological Fellowship, a year-long program aimed at giving advanced practice nurses and physician assistants further expertise in neurosurgery.

Jennifer Krawczyk, MS, APRN, AGACNP-BC, was all smiles near her mother and brother during a celebration of Krawczyk being the first graduate of the advanced practice provider neurosurgical fellowship.

The program, co-administered through USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair and the USF College of Nursing, is the first of its kind in the United States, which weighed on Krawczyk’s decision to apply in 2018.

“The opportunity to pioneer as the first neurosurgical fellow for advance practice providers in the nation was something I couldn’t pass up,” said Krawczyk, who earned her bachelor and master in science degrees from USF in 2014 and 2017, respectively.

She said she chose neurosurgery chiefly because the subject matter was daunting for her.

“Neurosurgery was an area I found challenging,” she said. “What better way to conquer that challenge and reservation about a specialty than to just dive right in?”

As a fellow, Krawczyk was able to experience facets of neurosurgery that advanced practice providers often miss because they typically are working on the floor. She said these experiences helped fine-tune her clinical expertise and provide more in-depth training.

“I think without the fellowship the knowledge and skills I have now would have taken me years to develop,” Krawczyk said.

Jennifer Krawczyk (left), photographed with Harry van Loveren, MD, professor and chairman of USF Health department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair, during a celebration for Krawczyk for being the first graduate of the advanced practice provider neurosurgical fellowship.

It is that type of opportunity that persuaded officials with the USF Health’s Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair and the USF College of Nursing to volunteer to be the first specialty to offer this type of fellowship.

“It (the fellowship) had so many potential benefits, we didn’t think twice about participating,” said Harry van Loveren, MD, a USF Health professor and the neurosurgery department’s chairman. “We are extremely proud that (Krawczyk) was the first student to graduate from this program.”

The complex and varied treatments for conditions and diseases associated with neurosurgery also influenced officials to experiment with helping further develop advanced practice providers.

“We started with neurosurgery because it takes a while to become familiar with the nuances,” said Marcia Johansson, DNPO, ARNP, who is a USF Health assistant professor in the College of Nursing as well as director of the Advanced Practice fellowship.  These nuances, Johansson said, “make it very necessary to have some specialty training.”

Jennifer Krawczyk, MS, APR, with a neurosurgery patient at Tampa General Hospital in August 2019.

Based on Krawczyk’s success, the fellowship will continue. Currently, there are three advanced practice fellows participating in the program, including fellows in neurosurgery, oncology (in partnership with the Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute) and otolaryngology.

“They (the advanced care providers) are now ingrained in the systems, they have developed friendships, and they have improved their education,” Dr. Johansson said. “Fellowships are going to become the norm for advanced care providers.”

Advanced practice fellows are hired by USF Health during the year-long program and earn 80 percent of their normal salary as well as benefits.

Krawczyk’s success, ensures the fellowship will continue and future advanced practice provider will be receiving certificates from Marcia Johansson (left), DNP, APRN.

Tampa, FLA (Jan. 17, 2017) — The University of South Florida has launched a neurosciences initiative to integrate the latest treatment and research for a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders.

With the state-of-the-art USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute as its centerpiece and driving force, the new neuroscience initiative is being spearheaded by Dr. Harry van Loveren, vice dean of clinical affairs for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair. Dr. van Loveren has a proven track record of highly effective administrative and clinical leadership skills, having served as interim dean of the USF medical school and developed one of its most successful departments. He is widely respected regionally and nationally as a top neurosurgeon and researcher with expertise in skull base surgery as well as microneurosurgical techniques.

Harry van Loveren, MD

The multidisciplinary initiative will bring together medical, surgical and research specialists from USF Health’s departments of neurology, neurosurgery and psychiatry – all dedicated to advancing treatment and prevention of brain, spinal cord and other nervous system disorders.

“The primary goal of this larger neurosciences initiative is to foster and coalesce interdisciplinary research collaboration among USF Health scientists looking at the brain in unique ways to accelerate new discoveries for a broad range of neurological conditions – including Alzheimer’s and related dementias, Parkinson’s, ataxias, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and stroke – leading to improved treatment and prevention for the patients we serve,” said Dr. Charles Lockwood, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine.

“Dr. van Loveren has the expertise and commitment to build a preeminent, strong neurosciences model that will provide an even greater infrastructure for moving neurological discoveries from bench to bedside,” Dr. Lockwood said.

By consolidating disease-specific areas of care for a wide spectrum of neurological conditions, the initiative is expected to strengthen collaborative, complementary research across USF neuroscience disciplines and allow patients to better access the care they need.

“We will build upon the success of the Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute in becoming a vital treatment and research center for Floridians affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders,” Dr. van Loveren said.

“The neurosciences initiative will unify and coordinate all resources at the university for neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders so we can expand our neurosciences footprint and serve even more patients and their families. We envision USF Health becoming a national destination for all things related to brain disorders and brain health.

The endeavor will also help position USF to take advantage of new federal funding opportunities such as the National Institutes of Health’s BRAIN Initiative, a pioneering project aimed at revolutionizing the understanding of the brain and accelerating the development and application of new technologies for brain disorders.

                                                                                                                   -USF Health-
USF Health’s mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, the Biomedical Sciences Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs, and the USF Physicians Group. USF Health is an integral part of the University of South Florida, a high-impact, global research university dedicated to student success. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu

Media contact:  
Anne DeLotto Baier, USF Health Communications
(813) 974-3303 or abaier@health.usf.edu