Nursing Education and Practice:
Building Partnerships to Ensure a Stable Nursing Workforce in Hawai’i
(download pdf file)

Written by
Sandra A. LeVasseur
Associate Director, Research
Hawaii State Center for Nursing
February 2006

The Nursing Education and Practice Collaborative of the Hawaii State Center for Nursing is committed to a shared vision of education and practice in the State of Hawaii to ensure a stable and competent nursing workforce. The collaborative is dedicated to generating innovative and sustainable solutions for assuring a stable and highly competent nursing workforce across the continuum of healthcare delivery.

The Education and Practice Collaborative is comprised of representatives from key sectors of nursing in the State of Hawaii with a shared mission and vested interest to attract, educate, and maintain a qualified nursing workforce. This mission presents an opportunity for collaboration to increase the supply of highly competent registered nurses and expand educational capacity through integrated education / practice partnerships. The primary objective of the group is: Build partnerships that integrate education and practice to ensure that today’s and tomorrow’s nurses meet the healthcare needs of the people of Hawaii.

This background paper provides an overview of current national and local nursing workforce issues that impact nursing education and practice; and identifies a number of strategies and initiatives found to be useful in other settings. This overview is underpinned by the Joint Task Force Report of the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) and American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) published in 2003. At the same time, we in Hawaii must confront our own specific issues and develop our own solutions to the current nursing shortage.