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Fellows Guide

Welcome to the RADIANT Fellowship Program
This program is designed to prepare you to provide comprehensive abortion care to patients in various clinical settings. The goal is to expand access across the state of Illinois, reducing barriers, costs and complications for patients across the nation. Congratulations on beginning this journey for advancing reproductive justice.

In 2024, Illinois clinics provided nearly 25% of all cross-state abortions—more than any other state. Nearly 40% of abortions in Illinois were for out-of-state patients. RADIANT helps meet this growing need by preparing new providers to deliver compassionate, high-quality care.

We look forward to providing the training and mentorship you will need to successfully integrate abortion care into your practice.

Fellowship Expectations

Participation in the RADIANT Fellowship program is defined as completing the following tasks:

1. Online, asynchronous curriculum (approximately 30.5-35.5 hours).
2. Attending a two-day-long, in-person training event on the UIC campus (see acceptance letter for assigned event date; 16.5 hours)

Following completion of the above tasks, Fellows are expected to:
1. Engage in the Mentorship Program to work with an experienced provider in the abortion field (provided by RADIANT) for professional development.
2. Participate in clinical training opportunities provided by RADIANT to obtain patient care experience.
3. Attend RADIANT community programming (if in Chicagoland area)

Curriculum Overview

All portions of the asynchronous, online curriculum must be completed prior to the skills/simulation live training event.
The asynchronous, online curriculum consists of the following:
  1. The Training in Early Abortion for Comprehensive Healthcare (TEACH) curriculum plus Illinois-specific content. The content is divided into 10 chapters, with exam questions, and will take an estimated 30 hours to complete.
  2. Ultrasound Training. Complete online ultrasound modules (5 hours) offered through the National Abortion Federation website (a membership benefit; Fellows whose NAF membership application is still pending will have alternative content to access through the University of Washington). Hands-on ultrasound simulation training will take place during the in-person training session.
  3. Review of Illinois Abortion Law. Overview of current laws and regulations; takes 30 minutes to complete.

Live Event Overview

The live, two-day event (full days) will be held on the UIC campus. Your attendance date will be determined by RADIANT Staff. The event is a mixture of live lectures; hands-on training; simulated ultrasound instruction; and simulated patient encounters and complications triage overseen by a team of RADIANT faculty who are leaders in their field and expert clinicians in abortion care.

required national abortion federation  Membership

Full acceptance into the Fellowship Program is contingent upon applying for National Abortion Federation (NAF) membership and passing their background check. Your expense for the first year of membership will be reimbursed by the Fellowship.  The NAF background check can take several months to complete. We will serve as your professional reference.
When applying for membership, use the following details:
  • Select Individual
  • RADIANT Fellows who are Advanced Practice Clinicians will select the “Clinicians in Abortion Care (CIAC)” category (fee depends on your specialty and whether your employer is a NAF member, if applicable).
  • RADIANT Fellows who are Physicians or Residents/Fellows will select the “Clinician Member” category (fee depends on your specialty and whether your employer is a NAF member, if applicable) or “Resident/Fellow.”
  • List RADIANT PI Kylea Liese (kylea3@uic.edu) as one of your references in your application. The remaining references can be selected from your professional contacts.
  • Please submit the receipt to radiant@uic.edu. Reimbursement will be included in the stipend issued after Fellowship completion.

Stipend

Once you have successfully completed the RADIANT Fellowship, you are eligible to receive a $4,000 stipend. All Fellows (not employed by the UI system) will need to be registered as vendors in order to receive the stipend if they have not previously been registered. Stipends are subject to state and federal tax reporting laws. This stipend is intended not only to compensate you for time spent learning the provided curriculum in preparation for the two-day live event, but to also reimburse you for your first year of (Fellowship-required) NAF membership and the fee paid for receiving CME/CEU for completing the TEACH Curriculum.

After the Fellowship

RADIANT pairs fellowship graduates with experienced abortion clinicians for one year of structured mentorship. Our mentors are licensed MD/DOs, PAs, or APRNs actively providing abortion care and are located all over the United States.
Mentorship Expectations:
-Monthly check-ins (virtual or in-person)
-Provide clinical and professional guidance
-Share personal experiences and career insight
-Foster leadership, resilience, and patient-centered care
-Attend RADIANT programming (if located in Chicagoland area)

Clinical Training Opportunities

We are creating a partnership with a Chicagoland-area abortion clinic that will allow RADIANT Fellows to get needed clinical skills for obtaining privileges or for demonstrating competency to current or future employers. We plan for this opportunity to go live in 2026.

Community Events

We also hold community learning events for Fellows, in addition to providers, faculty, advocates, and students. These are opportunities to network and learn about abortion care-related programming.

Questions

If you have any questions or need to report any changes that would prevent you from completing the Fellowship at this time, please email us at radiant@uic.edu. If you have any clinical questions while going through the curriculum, please reach out to us, and we will route your question to the appropriate subject matter expert.

Welcome to the RADIANT Fellowship! We look forward to working with you.

License

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The Reproductive Advocacy and Diversity in Advanced Nursing Training (RADIANT) Fellowship Copyright © 2024 by Kylea Liese, PhD, CNM, FACNM; Samantha Auerbach, PhD, WHNP-BC; Pamela Pearson, DNP, CNM, FACNM; Erica Hinz, MD, MPH, FACOG; Nakeisha Weathersby, CNM, APRN-FPA; Chenyi Zheng, DNP, CNM; and Robyn Nisi, MPH is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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