Press Release: AACN and AONE Partner to Enhance Patient Care Academic Partnerships

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

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[td=align: left][color=#002b48]for immediate release

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aacn and aone partner to enhance patient care

through effective academic-practice partnerships

new online resources created to facilitate strong partnerships

between schools of nursing and practice sites

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[td=align: left][color=#002b48]washington, d.c., may 8, 2012 -- the [color=#ad001e]american association of colleges of nursing (aacn) and the [color=#ad001e]american organization of nurse executives (aone) are pleased to announce the creation of a new online resource developed to advance robust academic-practice partnerships. this new clearinghouse, hosted on the aacn web site, features an interactive tool kit with practical guidelines for establishing successful collaborations as well as a guiding principles document that outlines the eight tenets for productive partnerships.

"educating nurses to thrive in today's healthcare system requires a strong commitment and close collaboration from both nurse educators and their counterparts in practice," said aacn president jane kirschling, dns, rn, faan. "through our work with aone, we are pleased to offer a new set of resources which underscore the importance of the academic-practice partnership as a mechanism for advancing nursing practice to improve the health of the public."

"with the institute of medicine calling for transformation in our nation's healthcare delivery system, closer collaboration between practice and academic leaders must be an essential element to igniting this change," said aone president laura caramanica, phd, rn, cenp, fache. "we welcome the opportunity to work with our colleagues in nursing education to strengthen practice and help position nurses to lead change and advance health."

approved by the aacn board of directors in march 2010, a joint task force was convened by aacn and aone to develop resources for nursing leaders looking to develop and sustain effective academic-practice partnerships. this task force was led jointly by aacn board member judy beal, dnsc, rn, from simmons college and past aone president linda everett, phd, rn, nea-bc, faan from indiana university health. while this collaboration continues through the newly formed aacn-aone academic-practice partnership steering committee, the following resources are now available:

• guiding principles for academic-practice partnerships: endorsed by both aacn and aone, these eight principles will help nursing leaders to develop collaborative arrangements based on common goals, mutual respect, and shared knowledge.
  
• interactive tool kit for the developing and sustaining partnerships: this tool kit was designed to facilitate the development, growth, and evaluation of academic-practice partnerships as a fundamental condition to advance nursing practice and improve the quality of care. in addition to exemplars, resources were created to guide you from start to finish in developing a partnership.
  
• literature review on academic-practice partnerships: this table contains a detailed summary of the literature on academic-practice partnerships for the past decade.
  
• survey on academic-practice partnerships: this document summarizes the data from the national survey on partnerships conducted with deans, chief nurse officers, and directors of community health/public health agencies.
  
• focus group sessions: findings from a series of aacn-aone focus groups include details on current practices, barriers, successful partnerships, and recommendations related to academic-practice partnerships.
  

future steering committee activities include the launch of an online collaboration community to stimulate discussion and resource sharing related to academic-practice partnerships and the hosting of a preconference on this topic in conjunction with the annual clinical nurse leader summit in january.

to access these resources as well as the roster of steering committee members, see [color=#ad001e]http://www.aacn.nche.edu/leading-initiatives/academic-practice-partnerships.

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[td=align: left][color=#002b48]the american association of colleges of nursing (aacn) is the national voice for university and four-year college education programs in nursing. representing more than 700 member schools of nursing at public and private institutions nationwide, aacn's educational, research, governmental advocacy, data collection, publications, and other programs work to establish quality standards for bachelor's- and graduate-degree nursing education, assist deans and directors to implement those standards, influence the nursing profession to improve health care, and promote public support of baccalaureate and graduate nursing education, research, and practice. [color=#ad001e]www.aacn.nche.edu.

the american organization of nurse executives (aone)is the national professional organization for nurses who design, facilitate and manage care. with more than 8,500 members, aone is the leading voice of nursing leadership in health care. since 1967, the organization has provided leadership, professional development, advocacy and research to advance nursing practice and patient care, promote nursing leadership excellence and shape public policy for health care. aone is a subsidiary of the american hospital association (aha). for additional information, visit the aone website at[color=#ad001e]www.aone.org.

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