Joint nursing appointments: a vehicle for influencing health care change

With the rapid pace of health care change nurses need to organize and respond quickly to the debate on future health care policy. Nurses from practice and academia working together can capitalize on their unique knowledge and expertise to influence the development of consumer- and health-oriented policies. In the past joint appointments have served to unite nurses in the education and research domains. These appointments must evolve to encompass policy-focused activities that will enable nurses to make a significant contribution to the transformation of the health care delivery system.