Academic-practice partnership: Exploring a model for collaborative nursing education in infection prevention and...

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Infection Prevention and Control (IPC)
• Academic-Practice Partnerships

Background:

• Academic-practice partnerships are crucial in modern nursing education.
• Collaborations can enhance undergraduate nursing students' infection prevention and control (IPC) knowledge and skills.
• These partnerships offer IPC staff opportunities to develop clinical teaching and mentorship skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore potential areas for mutual collaboration between a university nursing college and an affiliated healthcare system's IPC department.
• To gauge interest in formalizing an academic-practice partnership focused on IPC.
• To advance nursing students' IPC competencies and IPC staff's clinical teaching skills.

Main Methods:

• Convened an exploratory workshop.
• Brought together representatives from a private university-based college of nursing and its affiliated health care system's IPC department.
• Facilitated brainstorming sessions to identify collaborative opportunities.

Main Results:

• Identified key areas for mutual collaboration between the academic institution and the IPC department.
• Gauged a positive interest in formalizing a partnership.
• Established a foundation for future collaborative initiatives in IPC education and practice.

Conclusions:

• An academic-practice partnership between a nursing college and an IPC department holds significant potential for mutual benefit.
• Such collaborations can effectively enhance IPC knowledge and skills in nursing students.
• The exploratory workshop successfully laid the groundwork for a formal partnership aimed at improving IPC education and practice.