When something works well in the nursing community, there's a tendency to want to share it with colleagues so everyone can benefit. That's the feeling now in New England where three states - Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire - have joined forces against a long-term nursing shortage by developing a regional approach to nursing education.

With a $250,000 grant, the Tufts Health Plan Foundation is boosting this tri-state collaboration in an effort called "Creativity and Connections: Building a Regional Nursing Education Framework."

Tufts is one of 19 foundations nationwide to receive funding from "Partners Investing in Nursing's Future," an initiative led by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Northwest Health Foundation.

The idea is to test innovative ideas locally, find out what works and then share those ideas with nurses nationwide.

Common Outcomes

The strength of the New England effort is the partnership that's already formed among nurse leaders in the three states, said Ellen B. Ceppetelli, MS, RN, CNL, nursing education director at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH.

"This is a wonderful example of nurses working together and taking someone else's work, expanding upon it and disseminating that work for everyone's benefit," said Ceppetelli, co-chair of the effort in New Hampshire.

Participants bring a range of perspectives, but all are focused on these common outcomes:

• increase faculty through scholarship support for nurses committed to teaching;

• boost school capacity by utilizing a Web-based central database to coordinate clinical placements and list their availability; and

• design nursing curriculum in New England to ensure students possess the competencies necessary for success in today's healthcare environment.

Fortunately, organizers aren't starting from scratch.

The partnership will build off a model Massachusetts has already established through a state-supported effort over the past 4 years.

"There's so much crossover between students and nurses in the three states, we thought it would be nice for all of us to be working from the same educational format," said Maureen Sroczynski, MS, RN, chief nursing consultant to the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education's Nursing Initiative and the project director.

MA Component

Supported by the Tufts Health Plan Foundation, a scholarship effort in Massachusetts aided 18 students pursing nurse faculty education between 2008 and 2009. Graduates are required to commit to teaching in the state one year for each year of funding.

Also, Massachusetts has operated a Web-based clinical placement database www.mcnplacement.org since 2006, providing nursing students with a searchable source of clinical opportunities.

The system has increased available placements by 20 percent, Sroczynski said, noting the figure is bound to increase now that the Boston region, which previously was not yet operational, is included on the site.

To address the third component - evaluate and redesign nursing curriculum - Massachusetts assembled statewide leaders in nursing education and practice.

They came up with 10 core competencies focusing on the knowledge, attitude and skills nursing students must demonstrate to graduate.

These expectations in areas such as patient-centered care, leadership, quality improvement, safety and teamwork are meant to ensure a seamless transition into professional nursing.

Individual Twists

Organizers are quick to point out adopting the same competencies doesn't mean every nursing school must work from the same textbooks or handle clinicals the same way.

Each does things a bit differently but with the same outcomes in mind.

"You design the curriculum, but we want you to be able to demonstrate the nurses you're producing can meet these competencies," Sroczynksi said.

With the Massachusetts framework in place, the natural progression was to share it with neighboring states, organizers said.

With the Tufts Health Plan Foundation grant and other funding sources, there's a total of $356,000 available for the tri-state collaboration.

"We in New Hampshire and in Rhode Island are now going to take this method and use it," Ceppetelli said.

"The initiative has started; people are excited, and they want to work together," she added. "It's the beginning of the change happening."

Breath of Life

Dayle Joseph, EdD, RN, dean of the University of Rhode Island's College of Nursing, said nurse educators in that state were already engaged in a gap analysis of curriculum, and the Tufts grant will further those efforts.

"We really want all of our graduates to have these competencies so they can all function on the same level," said Joseph, co-director of the effort in Rhode Island.

The collaboration with colleagues in Massachusetts and New Hampshire is a thrilling opportunity for Rhode Island, she said.

"It's brought new ideas to the table and has breathed new life into things," Joseph said. "It's a very exciting time for the nursing community."

Jim Kerr is a frequent contributor to ADVANCE.