An academic service partnership to expand capacity: what did we learn?

This article highlights the educational needs that emerged when an academic institution and a hospital partnered to produce more nurses in response to the registered nurse shortage. The partnership proposed to offer quality clinical experiences for students by having the hospital-paid nurse clinicians serve as faculty. This would enable the academic partner to increase enrollment amid limited faculty resources. The qualitative feedback received may prove useful in (1) guiding the professional development activities of future nurse clinicians who participate in education-service partnerships to expand educational capacity; (2) assisting academic nursing program administrators and faculty to expand capacity without compromising quality; and (3) assisting hospital nurse administrators to weigh risks and returns to pursue mutually beneficial outcomes.