Faculty practice and health policy: implications for leaders in nursing education

This article describes the effects of selected health policies at federal, state, local, and institutional levels on the Mountain City Extended Hours Health Center, a rural nursing faculty practice of the College of Nursing at East Tennessee State University. A description of the ways in which nurse leaders have influenced and shaped health policy through the clinic is also presented. Rural health clinic legislation, state policies on advanced nursing practice, local government decisions, and institutional policies are among those factors considered. Suggestions for nurse leaders to maximize success in achieving policy goals are presented.