A Research Collaboration between a Catholic University School of Nursing and Healthcare System: Process and Model

Collaborations between diverse Catholic organizations will be important in fulfilling the goals contained in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2010 document, "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health." This article describes a qualitative research study examining the partnership between a graduate-level school of nursing in a Catholic university and a large Catholic healthcare system with multi-state sites. A content analysis methodology is used to characterize the process of the partnership's creation and maintenance. Finally, a model of collaboration between Catholic university schools of nursing and healthcare systems is proposed based upon content analysis with constituent elements of shared charisms, commitment to mutual goals, fl exibility in collaborative activities, and mutual synergy.