Ten Years and Counting: A Successful Academic-Practice Partnership to Develop Nursing Research Capacity

Area of Science:

• Nursing Research
• Healthcare Partnerships
• Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

• Academic-practice partnerships are crucial for advancing healthcare.
• Sustaining these collaborations during healthcare payment transformation presents unique challenges.
• Bridging the gap between nursing education and clinical practice is essential for improving patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a decade-long academic-practice partnership between a university nursing school and a healthcare organization.
• To provide evidence that research collaboration and mentoring improve patient care.
• To demonstrate the engagement of faculty and staff nurses in academic-practice research.

Main Methods:

• Nursing faculty and clinicians collaborated on organizational priorities.
• 28 studies were approved, with 17 completed and findings translated to practice.
• Dissemination included publications and presentations at local, national, and international conferences.

Main Results:

• The partnership successfully fostered research collaboration and mentoring.
• Seven completed projects have been translated into practice improvements.
• Participants showed continued academic progression and research engagement.

Conclusions:

• The academic-practice partnership is a successful model for bridging education and practice.
• This collaboration effectively develops research capacity in both institutions.
• The partnership contributes to the literature on academic-practice models for nursing research.