AACN-AONE Task Force on Academic-Practice Partnership
Proposed Template for Tool Kit
Questions to Think About
Initiative
Interprofessional
Teams
Players
1. How do you identify your
partners? If you are a dean in an
academic health center, you have
many well established potential
partners in the schools of
medicine, pharmacy, business,
and allied health. If you are a
dean or director in a school or
department of nursing that is not
in an academic health center, are
there schools of medicine,
pharmacy, etc in your city or
surrounding area that you could
partner with? If you are a chief
nursing officer, your nurses work
in inter-professional teams every
day. You should think about what
partnerships do you want to
expand around a focused area of
interest. The IOM report’s
recommendations around nurses
leading inter-professional teams is
a good place to begin to think
Partnership Activities
Environment
For the first meeting:
Time
1. What is the right partnership activity
1. Is this the right
for you and your partner?
time for this
There may be many possibilities for
partnership?
inter-professional initiatives. Which
2. What are the
ones fit into your strategic plan?
issues that will
What are your priorities? What are
facilitate or
your strengths that would augment
impede the
the partnership?
development of
2. What documents about your
the partnership?
organization might be helpful to
3. What is the time
bring to the first meeting?
commitment for
Some relevant documents may be
the partners?
your strategic plan, curriculum, list of
4. Whose time will
faculty and staff accomplishments.
be required?
3. What do you have to offer? This
5. When will the
could include faculty and staff
meetings be
expertise, an established curriculum,
scheduled? Are
a grant writer, budget assistance,
they on a regular
track record in publication,
basis and
contacts/networks.
frequent?
4. What is the mutual benefit? Identify
what you want to accomplish for
Space
about potential new and/or
refocused partnerships.
2. Why is this partner a good fit?
Does your potential partner
understand your programs, your
goals, your vision? Do you have a
common ground and shared
vision? Is this partner
approachable and available?
Have you tried to reach out to this
partner?
3. How do you approach your
potential partner? How do you
make the appointment with the
right person? Who is the right
person? The first step is finding
out who the right contact person
is. Use your networks to collect
this information. Then, pick up
the phone or send an email. Be
clear on why you are contacting
the potential partner. Use the
IOM report and the following
work to build a case for a
partnership: The Interprofession
Education Colaborative’s “ Core
Competencies for
Interprofessional Collaborative
Practice,” The IOM Report on the
Future of Nursing; “ The Health
Professionals for a New Century”
your strategic vision and what might
1. What space is
be of benefit to the partner. This
required for the
could be joint programming, clinical
activity?
experiences, leadership
2. What equipment
opportunities, professional
or supplies are
development, or a larger scale
needed?
organizational commitment.
3. What $ is
5. What is your vision? Be sure to
needed?
identify this before the first meeting
4. Where are we
and be able to clearly communicate
meeting?
this. Does your potential partner
5. Where will we
share this vision? Ask this question
present
directly. If the answer is no, address
outcomes?
related possibilities for partnership or
decide that the partnership would
Regulation:
not be strategic at this time.
1. What are the
6. What is the potential
policies or
initiative/activity and who else
regulatory issues
needs to be involved in both
that will impede
organizations? Have some initial
or facilitate
ideas before the first meeting. Be
development of
prepared to brainstorm, prioritize,
the partnership
and compromise.
on both sides?
7. Who is the top leadership in the
organization? Are you talking to
Context:
them? Be sure to be talking to the
1. How will the
person in the organization who is the
partnership be
decision maker. If at the first
funded?
meeting, you determine that the
2. What are the
person with whom you are speaking
constraints of
is not the decision maker, ask for
both partners?
Report published in Lancet (
guidance on who this person may be.
December 4, 2010, vol 376, pp.
8. What is the business case for the
1923-58.
partnership? Once you decide
4. Where do you meet? Offer to
together on the inter-professional
host the first meeting… but
initiative, together discuss the ROI.
basically meet wherever is most
Determine how much the initiative
convenient for your potential
will cost each organization and what
partner.
the return on investment is for each
5. Preparing for the first meeting:
partner. Determine whether or not
What do you need to know about
there is financial value to each
your potential partner and his or
partner. If not… abort the plan and
her organization? What does
start over.
your partner need to know about
9. What are the next steps? Do you
you and your organization? Be
have a timeline established at the
sure to come prepared having
end of the first meeting?
read anything you can on your
10. Have you sent a thank you not with
potential partner and organization
next steps?
to assess a fit for partnership and Follow-up Meetings:
shared vision. Bring information
1. Do you have clarity on goals and
about your organization with you
vision?
to the first meeting. Think in
2. Are your goals written and clearly
advance about your vision and
defined?
goals for the partnership and
3. What are the details and timeline of
what you bring to the table. Think
the initiative? Do you have clarity
about what your potential partner
and mutual understanding?
brings to the partnership in
4. What resources are needed? Who
advance.
will provide them? Are the
resources shared?
5. Whom can we call for expert
consultation if need be?
6. Will there be an official MOU?
3. What history do
the partners have
with each other
and each others’
institutions?
7. What are the expected outcomes of
the activity? How will they be
evaluated? How will results be
disseminated? What is the order of
authorship?