AACN-AONE Task Force on Academic-Practice Partnership
Indiana University Nursing Learning Partnership
Linda Q. Everett, PhD, RN, FAAN, NEA – BC
Chief Nurse Executive
Indiana University Health
Marion E. Broome, PhD, RN, FAAN
Dean, Indiana University School of Nursing
Initiative
Inter-professional
Teams
Players
How do you identify your partners?


The need to seek partnerships
between known academic centers of
excellence with practice centers of
excellence informed how we
identified our partners. Mutual
goals in alignment with Benner’s
(2011) call for radical change in
education coupled with the Future of
Nursing report (IOM, 2010) and
shared respect between the CNE and
Dean naturally informed the
collaboration.
Players influencing the partnership
emerged as the Indiana University
Partnership Activities
For the first meeting
What is the right partnership activity
for you and your partner? There may be
many possibilities for inter-professional
initiatives. Which ones fit into your
strategic plan? What are your priorities?
What are your strengths that would
augment the partnership?

The practice and academic
strategic plans coupled with two
transformational leaders were
the strength that augmented the
partnership.
Environment
Time
Is this the right time for this
partnership?

Yes for the all the
reasons mentioned
previously.
What are the issues that will
facilitate or impede the
development of the
partnership?

No issues however –
mindful of the impact
of leadership, mindful
of the potential for ego,
Initiative
Players
Nursing Learning Partnership
(IUNLP). The IUNLP is a
partnership that demonstrates
interdependence between practice
and education, based on a shared
vision, mission, accountability, and
culture centered around the health of
the communities we serve.

Players (IUNLP) developed a model
that is intended to support an
environment where every IU Health
nurse and IU School of Nursing
student is welcomed and integrated
into the IU Health learning
community of nursing professionals.
Partnership Activities

IUNLP is committed to the
formation of nurses by
nurturing ongoing engagement
(life long learning) in advancing
the delivery of quality safe care
by nursing for patients wherever
they are, in any and every care
setting.
What documents about your
organization might be helpful to bring
to the first meeting? Some relevant
documents may be your strategic plan,
curriculum, list of faculty and staff
accomplishments.
Environment
the potential for fatigue
in terms of stretched
financial, material, and
human resources.
What is the time commitment
for the partners? Whose time
will be required? When will
the meetings be scheduled?
Are they on a regular basis
and frequent?

Why is this partner a good fit?



Transformational leaders with
shared vision and high respect for
differences each brings to achieving
shared goals. Fit has been influenced
by players (IUNLP) mutual goal to
support seamless transitions between
education and practice at multiple
intersection points.
The right people were the Chief
Nurse Executive for Indiana
University Health and the Dean for
What was intentionally planned
prior to the first meeting
included the following: selecting
for team, pre-reading engaging
around what would emerge as
mutual goals and shared
knowledge (Benner’s Call for
Radical Change, Future of
Nursing, and Nursing Excellence
(NLN) and Nursing Practice
(Magnet) sources of evidence.
The time commitment
is mutual and equitable
among partners. The
meetings are scheduled
during a time that’s
convenient for the
majority and meetings
are held monthly.
Space
What space is required for the
activity? What equipment or
supplies are needed? What $
is needed?

Dependent upon
particular activity and
Initiative
Players
the Indiana University School of
Nursing. Mutual goals for excellence
in practice and education coupled
with the IOM report and Benner’s
(2011) call for radical change in
nursing education were the catalyst
for the partnership between these
two particularly transformational
leaders.
Where do you meet?

The IUNLP meets monthly and
location alternates between the
practice and academic sites.
Preparing for the first meeting: What do
you need to know about your potential
partner and his or her organization? What
does your partner need to know about you
and your organization?


Preparatory work prior to the first
meeting is imperative. Assuming
shared goals and mutual respect
among the key practice and
academic leader, we then examined
attributes necessary to serve on the
team.
Equity in number representing both
Partnership Activities
What do you have to offer? This could
include faculty and staff expertise, an
established curriculum, a grant writer,
budget assistance, track record in
publication, contacts/networks.

Environment
in process of identifying
need.
Where will we present
outcomes?

All the above! We selected for
team and therefore the IUNLP
includes practice experts,
nursing education researchers,
operations genius, coupled
national networking, experience
with grant writing and
publications.
What is the mutual benefit? Identify
what you want to accomplish for your
strategic vision and what might be of
benefit to the partner. This could be joint
programming, clinical experiences,
leadership opportunities, professional
development, or a larger scale
organizational commitment.
TBD
Regulation:
What are the policies or
regulatory issues that will
impede or facilitate
development of the
partnership on both sides?

TBD
Context:
How will the partnership be
funded?

As shared previously, to
be determined based
upon particular activity
between the
partnership.
 All the above! Examples include:
Nursing Leadership Journal Club coled by CNO and faculty (Duffy, et.al.,
2011), Advanced Practice Institute led
What are the constraints of
by IUH Director of Nursing with
both partners?
mentoring from CNE and Dean (see
attached), QSEN scenario design
Initiative
Players
practice and academe was
considered. Potential team member
attributes considered included: team
member knowledge/ expertise within
their respective setting and natural
tendency to adopt or adapt. For
example, members were tapped
based upon whether the individual
was an innovator, early adopter,
resister who we could count on to ask
wicked questions were also team
member considerations.


All meetings are facilitated by a dual
role shared by the academic and
practice sites. All meetings are
preceded with a preparatory phase
that includes pre-reading, reflection,
and group work when necessary.
The IUNLP began with a retreat that
resulted in vision, mission, and goal
statements. What followed were subteams charged with model
development, structure, glossary of
terms, and application examples.
Partnership Activities
between practice education and faculty
with QSEN expertise, faculty support/
mentoring for facility-based research
councils, faculty opportunity to conduct
research in their area of interest given
practice exposure, and beginning design
of situated coaching between practice
experts and faculty influencing novice
to expert trajectory.
What is your vision? Be sure to identify
this before the first meeting and be able to
clearly communicate this.
• A tripartite vision has emerged
for the IUNLP
• A partnership demonstrating
interdependence between
practice and education, based on
a shared vision, mission and
accountability, all patientcentered
• A model that supports an
environment where every IU
Health nurse and IUSON
nursing student is welcomed and
integrated into the IU Health
learning community of nursing
Environment
What history do the partners
have with each other and each
others’ institutions?

History in terms of
partnership is based
upon previously
mentioned potential
barriers to partnership.
Initiative
Players
Partnership Activities
professionals
• An environment that support
seamless transitions between
education and practice at
multiple intersection points
Does your potential partner share this
vision? Ask this question directly. If the
answer is no, address related possibilities
for partnership or decide that the
partnership would not be strategic at this
time.

Yes- given the vision emerged as
a result of mutual visioning
sessions.
What is the potential initiative/activity
and who else needs to be involved in
both organizations? Have some initial
ideas before the first meeting. Be
prepared to brainstorm, prioritize, and
compromise.

As above, small group of key
stakeholders with intentional
planning based upon mutual
goals – natural compromise.
Environment
Initiative
Players
Partnership Activities
Who is the top leadership in the
organization? Are you talking to them?
Be sure to be talking to the person in the
organization who is the decision maker. If
at the first meeting, you determine that the
person with whom you are speaking is not
the decision maker, ask for guidance on
who this person may be.

Strategy – IUNLP is all about
the synergy, mutual respect and
shared vision between the CNE
at IUH and the Dean at the
IUSON
What is the business case for the
partnership? Once you decide together
on the inter-professional initiative,
together discuss the ROI. Determine how
much the initiative will cost each
organization and what the return on
investment is for each partner. Determine
whether or not there is financial value to
each partner. If not… abort the plan and
start over.

In process, but certainly in
alignment with VBP, expected
sources of evidence for
excellence for both NLN and
Environment
Initiative
Players
Partnership Activities
ANCC – Magnet.
What are the next steps? Do you have a
timeline established at the end of the
first meeting?
1. Have you sent a thank you not
with next steps?
Follow-up Meetings:
Do you have clarity on goals and vision?

Yes – as stated previously
Are your goals written and clearly
defined?

Yes with cited examples
including the nursing leadership
journal club, advanced practice
institute, and shared roles to
name a few examples.
What are the details and timeline of the
initiative? Do you have clarity and
mutual understanding?

Yes, with the aforementioned
examples.
What resources are needed? Who will
provide them? Are the resources
shared?
Environment
Initiative
Players
Partnership Activities
 Resources are shared in some
cases and offset by grants with
other examples.
Whom can we call for expert
consultation if need be?

LQE/ MEB
Will there be an official MOU?
What are the expected outcomes of the
activity? How will they be evaluated?

At a minimum, both practice
and education are centers of
excellence with the expectation
that performance is quantifiable.
From a practice perspective, for
example, specific sources of
excellence (ANCC, 2008) are
enabled through the intentional
practice – academic partnership
and reflected in components that
include transformational
leadership, structural
empowerment, exemplary
professional practice, and new
Environment
Initiative
Players
Partnership Activities
knowledge. Additional practice
metrics include evidence of
strong performance with VBP.
How will results be disseminated?

Communication among key
stakeholders is intentionally
designed to be both vertical and
horizontal to enable the voices
between the boardroom and
bedside to influence design,
strategy, execution, and
sustainability. Beyond key
stakeholders, the intent to
contribute to the body of
knowledge through publication
and presentation has also been
explored.
What is the order of authorship?

Intentionally alternating
Environment