By Jennifer Lollar
The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing is known for its nationally recognized, award-winning academic-practice partnerships. A new book, written from the perspective of academic and practice leaders who have built and sustained UAB’s most successful partnerships, has been published by Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (Sigma). This book provides nursing and healthcare leaders with the blueprint for driving innovation, improving outcomes and achieving health equity, and showing that when education and practice collaborate, patients and the profession benefit.
UAB School of Nursing Dean and Fay B. Ireland Endowed Chair Maria R. Shirey, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA‐BC, ANEF, FACHE, FNAP, FAAN; Dean and Professor Emerita Doreen C. Harper, PhD, RN, FAAN; Professor Emerita Cynthia Selleck, PhD, RN, FNP, FAAN; Professor and Associate Dean for Clinical and Global Partnerships Michele H. Talley, PhD, CRNP, ACNP‐BC, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN; and Professor and Senior Director in the Center for Nursing Excellence at UAB Hospital Connie White-Williams, PhD, RN, NE-BC, FNAP, FAHA, FAAN, have co-authored “Leading Academic‑Practice Partnerships in Nursing and Healthcare: A Paradigm for Change”, the definitive, first‑of‑its‑kind guide for nursing and healthcare leaders seeking to transform education, practice and patient outcomes through sustainable, high‑impact collaboration.
“As healthcare systems face unprecedented workforce shortages and escalating demands for access and quality, academic–practice partnerships are no longer optional—they are essential,” Shirey said. “This book provides a proven framework to combine the best of human resources with expertise from the education and practice environments we have used to lead health and healthcare transformation.”
Drawing on nearly two decades of leadership in academic–practice partnerships, the authors share their unparalleled expertise gained at the forefront of collaboration.
“Not only is our work grounded in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials, but it also provides an evidence‑based blueprint for aligning education and practice to prepare a future‑ready nursing workforce,” Harper said. “We offer scalable partnership models that demonstrate how strategic collaboration elevates care quality and coordination, expands access to care and services, strengthens population health and community outcomes, and empowers nurses to lead innovation across systems.”
The book equips leaders in academia and practice to move seamlessly from theory to action with the structures, tools and processes necessary to build, operationalize, sustain and grow high‑functioning partnerships over time—recognizing that partnerships will evolve as education and practice will as well.
“Nurses are well-positioned and play a critical role in leading transformative change across organizations and communities,” Talley said. “The case studies we provide feature successful, nationally recognized partnership models, as well as clear guidance on timelines, personnel, governance, and funding strategies that support long‑term sustainability of academic-practice partnerships.”
Strategic leadership and an entrepreneurial spirit are needed to lead comprehensive healthcare change. Understanding what is required of those who are initiating and attempting to sustain partnerships is key to their success.
“The academic-practice partnerships we discuss in this book go beyond clinical affiliation agreements,” White-Williams said. “The silos in which academia and healthcare have operated previously are no longer sufficient to address the issues and growing complexities facing healthcare. This book provides the path forward for everyone.”
The authors are nationally recognized nursing faculty and practice leaders, each known for charting a bold path forward—fueled by excellence, innovation and the desire to advance heath and achieve equity.
“This book is for faculty, students and leaders across baccalaureate through postdoctoral nursing programs, as well as practice professionals and those in other health disciplines,” Selleck said. “This is an essential resource for anyone who wants to strengthen the connection between education and practice to benefit the patients we serve.”
Leading Academic-Practice Partnerships in Nursing and Healthcare is available for purchase at sigmamarketplace.org/booksOpens an external link..