Symposium on nursing centers: past, present and future

A call for articles related to nursing centers was generated (Tanner, 1994), based on the fact that many existing nursing centers operate out of schools of nursing. Proceedings of a symposium on nursing centers presented at the Midwest Nursing Research Society (MNRS) meeting in April 1994 are shared as a way of advancing the development, implementation, and evaluation of nursing centers. The four contributions represent a review of the historical, empirical, and anecdotal literature, key elements in creating and maintaining a research laboratory, data sets useful for practice and research, and policy issues germane to nursing centers, which are a cornerstone of health care reform.