Education and practice partnerships in California

As the most populous state in the United States, California often serves as a bellwether of events to come. The following describes nursing work force issues in California, examples of how nurse educators are responding to health care system changes, and how practice colleagues are joining educators to prepare nurses for meeting the health needs of the people of California. The discussion begins with historical perspectives from the late 1980s to the present, the founding of the California Strategic Planning Committee for Nursing and its work, the Robert Wood Johnson Colleagues in Caring project for developing a master plan for nursing in California, and examples of existing programs in California that serve as models for preparing the best care providers to meet the health care needs of the population.