From Innovative Idea to State-Supported Policy: Academic Progression in Prelicensure Registered Nurse Education Using the Partnership Model

Changes in the registered nurse (RN) employment market in 2012 and 2013 negatively affected both employment for RNs and associate degree-prepared nurses (ADNs) and clinical placement for students in ADN preparation programs. To address this challenge, ADN nursing programs partnered with a university to create an innovative alternative to traditional prelicensure RN nursing education by sharing curricula among them. With the program, students simultaneously complete the ADN nursing degree onsite at the community college and the bachelor of science degree in nursing (BSN) online, with both degrees conferred at the end of the respective nursing programs, in time for the graduate to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination-Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN) and enter the workforce as a BSN-prepared nurse. This example of seamless academic progression is known in Kansas as the “Partnership Model.”