Essential concepts in developing community-university partnerships. CareLink: the Partners in Caring Model.

University and community partnerships are being created to increase community-based educational experiences for nursing students and to assist agencies in facing ever-decreasing resources to pay for health services for clients. Many challenges often burden these partnerships, leading to a less than satisfying experience for all those involved. The Partners in Caring Model described in this article is one approach to forming a successful partnership, proven effective in meeting the educational needs of the University of Connecticut, School of Nursing students, while providing additional resources to the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Connecticut, Inc. Using Anderson and McFarlane's Community as Partner Model as the framework, the essential principles behind the development of this successful partnership are discussed. The Partners in Caring Model demonstrates that community-university partnerships can sustain themselves when the partners have a commitment to care for the population being served, and it is a shared responsibility between education and practice.