Hermann Memorial’s academic-practice model improves workforce development

Memorial Hermann Health System implemented a tiered academic-practice partnership model to align academic partnerships with nursing workforce priorities, says Memorial Hermann Institute for Nursing Excellence Associate Vice President Caitlin McVey, MBA, RN. Writing in the Journal of Nursing Administration’s December issue, McVey, an AONL member, says the evidence-based and scalable model aligns with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing-AONL academic-practice partnership guiding principles. It streamlines the student-to-employee pathway, standardizes placement processes, improves student experiences, reduces administrative burden and creates a more personalized transition to practice for graduate nurses. The system offers three partnership tiers based on clinical alignment, with Tier 1 partnerships prioritized. The model has increased student-to-new-hire conversion rates by up to 80% and new graduate nursing retention rates by 8%.