An Analysis of Partnership Performance: The St. Johns Mercy Medical Center–Saint Louis University School of Nursing Dedicated Education Unit Project

The purpose of this article is to analyze the St. Johns Mercy Medical Center (SJMMC)–Saint Louis University School of Nursing (SLUSON) dedicated education unit (DEU) project for partnership effectiveness. The DEU, an innovative and collaborative academic–service partnership, reconceptualizes the role of the faculty and staff nurse in the clinical educational process. In a DEU, the staff nurse provides the clinical instruction to the student, and the faculty member coaches the staff nurse on the teaching–learning process. Rather than explore the effectiveness of the DEU as an innovative clinical pedagogy, this article analyzes the relationship between the academic and service institutions for strategic effectiveness. The analysis is based on themes found across three successful and distinct academic partnerships and other evaluative models from business, government, and alliance research. The themes and models provide the frameworks needed to analyze the SJMMC–SLUSON academic–service partnership for structure, process, and outcomes. This analysis can serve as a guide for the development of academic–service partnership practices to facilitate successful, sustainable, and replicable partnerships that benefit both institutions.