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AACN Recognizes Columbia Nursing and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Partnership with 2020 AACN New Era for Academic Nursing Award

Columbia Nursing and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital were honored with the 2020 American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) New Era for Academic Nursing Award for their successful implementation of recommended strategies from the AACN's Advancing Healthcare Transformation: A New Era for Academic Nursing report. The award, which was presented at the AACN Academic Nursing Leadership Conference on October 15, recognizes the academic-practice collaboration between the institutions; most notably, the Linking to Improve Nursing Care and Knowledge (LINK) program.  

Launched in 2014, LINK connects clinical nurses from NewYork-Presbyterian who have research ideas, with academic nurse scientists and statistical support from the school of nursing.

Reynaldo Rivera, DNP, Director of Nursing Research and Innovation at NewYork-Presbyterian Center for Professional Nursing Practice, said, “The AACN New Era for Academic Nursing Award acknowledges the Academic-Practice Partnership, which leverages and shares resources across academia and service to build--through synergism--a culture of inquiry, advancing nursing science and improving patient outcomes.” 

study published in the January 2019 online edition of The Journal of Nursing Administration showed LINK to be “feasible, sustainable, and reproducible,” according to the results of the year-long evaluation. Significant results from the project include a 367 percent increase in the number of nurse-led Internal Review Board-approved research protocols, from three in the previous year to 11 in the year of the assessment; two publications in press in peer-reviewed journals; and near total (98 percent) satisfaction among nurses who had a LINK research consultation. 

Now that the LINK program has proven to be an invaluable connection between researchers and clinicians, Dean Lorraine Frazier said it’s time to assess how the program will grow through a health equity lens. 

Dean Frazier remarked, “This partnership has connected us in so many ways—through research, clinical practice, and mentorship; the benefits for us and for patients are far-reaching. I look forward to the future of our collaboration, and to the impact we can have, together, for the underserved in the community.” 

Rivera added, “The future is bright for enhanced collaboration and limitless opportunities to improve nursing practice. Let us not forget the significant role that leadership plays in the development and sustainability of this important collaboration.”