Leading Academic-Practice Partnerships in Nursing and Healthcare

For those committed to education sustainability, innovation, and impact, this book serves as an indispensable guide for nursing leaders across academia and practice. By offering proven, scalable partnership models based on real-world exemplars, this book equips leaders to strategically prepare a future-ready nursing workforce.

Susan Corbridge, PhD, APRN, FAANP, FCCP, FAAN
Chief Nursing Education Innovation Officer
American Association of Colleges of Nursing

As a dean of nursing with 15 years of experience, I can attest to the pivotal role that academic-practice partnerships play in preparing the next generation of nurses, advanced practitioners, and nurse scientists. This is an essential read for nursing academics and practice leaders alike—providing valuable insights and inspiration for those committed to advancing the profession through collaboration.

Victoria Niederhauser, DrPH, RN, PPCNP-BC, FAAN
Dean & Professor
University of Tennessee Knoxville College of Nursing

Leading Academic-Practice Partnerships in Nursing and Healthcare: A Paradigm for Change is a comprehensive guide for unlocking the power of partnerships —transforming healthcare by improving care processes, care coordination, and patient outcomes through collaborative partnerships among nursing academic and practice sectors. Written by experts immersed in this work for well over a decade, this indispensable resource shows how to develop robust partnerships focused on health systems, population health, and community care—and how to build the organizational structure needed to sustain and grow those partnerships.

This book provides:

• An understanding of why academic-practice partnerships are important, their benefits, and the nurses’ role in partnership development
• A framework supported with tools and processes for developing an effective academic-practice partnership
• Case studies and real-world examples of successful partnerships
• Timelines for expected growth, personnel, and funding needed for sustainability

Rooted in the AACN Essentials, this first-of-its-kind book presents a path to investing in a future where collaboration drives quality, equity, and innovation and where nurses can lead needed changes in their organizations and communities.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Part I: FOUNDATIONS
• Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview of Academic-Practice Partnerships
• Chapter 2: Evolution of Academic-Practice Partnerships in Nursing
• Chapter 3: Theories, Frameworks, and Models Supporting Academic-Practice Partnerships
• Chapter 4: Nursing’s Unique Role in Developing Academic-Practice Partnerships
• PART II: TOOLS
• Chapter 5: The AACN Essentials as a Tool for Academic-Practice Partnerships
• Chapter 6: Tools and Processes for Developing Effective Academic-Practice Partnerships
• Chapter 7: Developing the Business Case to Sustain Academic-Practice Partnerships
• PART III: EXEMPLARS
• Chapter 8: Academic-Practice Partnership Exemplars: The North American Context
• Chapter 9: Academic-Practice Partnership Exemplars: The Global Context
• PART IV: EVOLUTION
• Chapter 10: Academic-Practice Partnerships: A Vision for the Future

AVAILABLE ON THE SIGMA REPOSITORY

• Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview of Academic-Practice Partnerships

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Doreen C. Harper, PhD, RN, FAAN, is Dean and Professor Emerita at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing (UABSON) and serves as an executive leadership coach and consultant.

Maria R. Shirey, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, ANEF, FACHE, FNAP, FAAN, is Dean and Fay B. Ireland Endowed Chair in Nursing at UABSON. She is Director of the school’s Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for International Nursing and holds a seat on the UAB Medicine Enterprise Board of Directors that governs the UAB Hospital and Health System.

Cynthia S. Selleck, PhD, RN, FNP, FAAN, is Professor Emerita at UABSON. She served as Professor and Associate Dean for Clinical and Global Partnerships at UABSON from 2010–2018, developing and leading multiple sustained academic-practice partnerships.

Michele H. Talley, PhD, ACNP-BC, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN, is Professor at UABSON and Associate Dean for Clinical and Global Partnerships. She also serves as the Clinic Director for the Providing Access to Healthcare Clinic, founded by UABSON in 2011.

Connie White-Williams, PhD, RN, NE-BC, FNAP, FAHA, FAAN, is an Associate Professor at UABSON and Senior Director in the Center for Nursing Excellence and Heart Failure Transitional Services for Adults Clinic at UAB Hospital, a clinic she co-founded.