Combining creativity and community partnership in mental health clinical experiences

Lack of parity for mental health treatment, coupled with the trend toward more community-based care, has challenged nurse faculty to identify quality, creative psychiatric clinical sites. The purpose of this article is to educate nurse faculty on practical, creative ways to identify nontraditional community psychiatric clinical experiences. Service learning, community partnerships, and group interaction are emphasized. Literature regarding recent health care initiatives and widely accepted criteria for quality nursing education are discussed as foundations for creating alternative mental health clinical experiences. The authors' experiences implementing these concepts are discussed. Community partnerships and alternative clinical sites/experiences benefit students, faculty, institutions, and the community.