Nursing schools and academic health centers: toward improved alignment and a synergistic partnership

This paper presents the findings from a national survey which the University of Washington conducted among leaders of 32 US academic nursing institutions that are part of academic health centers (AHCs) and complements these findings with results from a separate report by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. While expressing overall satisfaction with their AHC relationships, these leaders find that nursing is often given greater parity in matters of education and research than in mission setting, financial, and governance matters. AHCs are being asked to meet new health care challenges in new ways, starting with the education of health care professionals. AHCs need to be restructured to give nursing full parity if the nation’s and world’s needs for preventive and clinical care are to be best met.