Our Academic-Practice Partnership DEU Journey: Implementing the UNF DEU Model of Clinical Education

The Dedicated Education Unit (DEU) is proving to be an evidence-based, innovative, collaborative, theory-to-practice teaching strategy. The DEU conceptual vision began in the mid-1990s at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia. The first DEU in the United States (U.S.) was implemented at the University of Portland in 2003. The DEU clinical experience was born from complexities of providing more students with more quality time in fewer clinical practice settings with fewer resources, coupled with the desire to partner more effectively to strengthen nursing practice, advance health, and bring needed changes to the U.S. healthcare system.

This school of nursing’s DEU model of clinical instruction is a strategic clinical education partnership between tertiary education and local healthcare institutions. An overarching goal is to enhance clinical competency and excellent patient care. If implemented successfully, our DEU will optimize the clinical teaching-learning environment to better utilize existing resources, capitalize on the expertise of both clinicians and faculty, meet student, clinical, and academic staff learning, and meet teaching and professional development needs.

The success of this DEU is predicated on all DEU staff being committed to optimizing the learning environment to enhance the education of the nursing student. The academic faculty uses their expertise regarding teaching-learning pedagogy (i.e., adult learning, transformational learning) to coach and support the clinical nurse. The clinical registered nurse (RN) becomes the clinical instructor (CI) and, through principles tied to learning in practice communities, shares his or her knowledge of caring for hospitalized patients with the student nurse. Permeated throughout this model of clinical education is recognition of: clear communication and the shared offering of knowledge and solutions to problems; the value of academics, nurses, and peers as collaborative teachers and learners; mutual respect and trust amongst all stakeholders; cooperation, collegiality, and acceptance of constructive criticism.

The literature documents benefits for the students immersed in the DEU clinical experience. The DEU culture promotes a more positive clinical learning environment, students feel welcome as a part of the healthcare team, and the students become an integral part of the workflow and culture. The consistent student-CI pairing offers a mentor-mentee relationship with the CI which leads to trust and the confidence required in a graduate nurse. Also, the CI-student relationship allows greater student exploration of learning opportunities, which maximizes achievement of student learning outcomes and level of competence required of a graduate nurse. Students benefit from experiencing a realistic picture of nursing practice and a greater number and range of hands-on nursing experiences. The consistency in student placement provides reinforcement in learning, supports a smooth transition from academia into practice and recruitment/hiring into the hospital system, and produces stronger, more confident nurses.

The CI also benefits from this DEU clinical experience. This school of nursing’s DEU model of clinical instruction supports professional development. The CI gains exposure to evidence-based and best practices has the opportunity to nurture skill advancement (i.e., communication, organization, leadership). Invariably, the CI can sharpen clinical and pharmacological knowledge through the interaction with the student. Functioning in the role of a CI can be included on the resume/CV, and offers the clinician the opportunity to stay motivated in the role of mentor and role model. Hopefully, this motivation will increase nurse satisfaction, staff engagement, and staff empowerment. The CI experience is also active service to the profession because of the contribution to the education of our next generation of nurses.

Benefits are also available for the practice partner. Regarding recruitment, hosting a DEU allows pre-exposure to potential new hires, and can expand the recruitment pool and numbers of work-ready graduate nurses. Costs may possibly be reduced due to the possibility of less orientation time with cost savings. New hire retention and current nurse retention may also be enhanced. For the practice partners embracing nursing excellence, there are opportunities for research and publication. The DEU clinical experience can also be viewed as a best practice culture for the journey to Magnet status and sustainability of Magnet designation (Transformational Leadership; Structural Empowerment; Professional Practice; New Knowledge, Innovations, and Improvements; Outcomes). Overall, the academic-practice partnership nurtures a closer partnership between clinicians and academics, nurtures a common sense of belonging on units and in the facility, and promotes positive role modeling of a culture of caring.