Building Bridges to Connect and Transition Nurse Leaders From Practice to Academia

Abstract

The pervasive nursing workforce shortage impacts clinical and academic settings due to the pace of aging faculty, retirement, advanced degrees, and wage or pay gaps. Developing nurse educators is essential to accommodate the surge of potential nursing students and combat the shortage of nurses. Establishing academic-practice partnerships is a key strategy for facilitating the transition of clinical nurse leaders into academia. To promote their success, innovative pathways are needed. This article briefly describes challenges facing the nurse workforce, describes how academic-practice partnerships can be leveraged to address the nurse shortage, and focuses on strategies for transitioning from practice to academia.