An Academic-Practice Partnership to Advance DNP Education and Practice

During the past decade, the growth of doctor of nursing practice (DNP) programs in the United States has been phenomenal, with most focusing on the preparation of advanced practice registered nurses. Simultaneously, academic-practice partnerships have been a frequent subject of discussion for nursing's leading academic, administrative, and practice organizations. Numerous reports about academic-practice partnerships concerning aspects of baccalaureate nursing education exist, but partnership accounts for DNP programs are essentially nonexistent. The purpose of this article is to describe the initial phase of an academic-practice partnership between a multisystem health care organization and a college of nursing in a public land-grant university in the southeastern United States. The 7-year partnership agreement between Norton Healthcare and the University of Kentucky College of Nursing was designed to prepare 5 cohorts of 20 to 30 baccalaureate-prepared staff nurses as DNP graduates for advanced practice registered nurse eligibility. The description of partnering institution characteristics frames an emphasis on elements of the partnership proposal, contractual agreement, and partner responsibilities along with the logic model evaluation plan. Lessons learned include the importance of proposals and contracts to sustain the partnership, frequent communication to build trust, and strategic analysis for rapid response to challenging situations.