A new academic-practice partnership in a rural healthcare setting: Leading change with an intentional process

Academic-Practice Partnerships (APPs) are formal relationships between academic institutions and healthcare organizations that aim to improve healthcare delivery by preparing practice-ready nurses who readily transition into the workforce. The purpose of this article is to describe the intentional process used to create a new APP between a healthcare organization in a rural setting with a medium sized Midwestern university. The focus of the APP is to enhance leadership experiences for prelicensure students from the academic setting and make the meaningful work and impact of the practice partner nurse leaders visible to students. The overall goal of the APP is to advance nursing knowledge that improves and supports the health of individuals, their families, and their rural communities. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) Guiding Principles (AACN, 2012) were used as a framework. The APP created an intentional nine-stage process to form a new partnership and develop capacity for nursing leadership. Exemplars within the stage are presented. The approach can be used to inform vital APP partnerships.