Developing the Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education: The Back Story

The Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education (OCNE) is a collaborative partnership between community colleges and a multicampus university in Oregon that developed in response to an emerging nursing shortage and changing health needs in the population. OCNE has created a redesigned curriculum with shared agreements for academic standards, admission, and seamless transition from associate to baccalaureate programs. Although the schools share pedagogical resources, curriculum, and standards, each partner school retains autonomy and accountability for its degree program. The creation and continued development of the consortium required the participation of people from multiple organizations with diverse concerns. Through a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded evaluation of OCNE, this retrospective analysis was conducted to describe the process of consensus building that resulted in OCNE and to provide an explanatory framework for the benefit of others who are seeking to redesign nursing education in their communities.