Creating an academic-practice partnership in a primary care pediatric clinic

There is increasing demand for primary care nationally, and advanced practice registered nurses are uniquely suited to meet this demand. Academic nursing programs are responding to this challenge by expanding graduate nurse practitioner (NP) programs, but they are limited by availability of student clinical placement sites and dedicated preceptors. We addressed these limitations by developing an academic-practice partnership between a College of Nursing pediatric nurse practitioner (PNP) program and a primary care clinic within an academic pediatric hospital. A novel PNP faculty role was developed with teaching, patient care, and clinical precepting responsibilities. This partnership increased access to pediatric primary care services within the local underserved community, increased the number of teaching faculty members and clinical preceptors, and expanded clinical education opportunities for PNP students.