title: Alliance for Clinical Education (ACE): setting community standards through collaboration.
abstract: Today's clinical nursing education challenges center around managing complex issues related to clinical placements. The increased numbers and varying levels of nursing students, acuity and intensity of the clinical setting, and rise of regulatory and accrediting mandates provided impetus for the establishment of the Alliance for Clinical Education (ACE). This article describes community standards established by partnering educational programs and clinical agencies in the Denver, Colorado, and surrounding areas. ACE is successfully confronting the challenges of effectively using scarce clinical placements, validating student orientation mandates, and facilitating the availability and development of qualified clinical faculty. Examples of tools and resources created by ACE to provide uniformity in meeting mutual expectations and requirements are described. The power of collaboration and sharing expertise is described by current initiatives, which reflect the ability to influence policy and shape community standards to support excellence in clinical nursing education.
authors.affiliation: Baccalaureate Nursing Program, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, School of Nursing, C288-12, Education 2 North, Room 3240, 13120 E. 19th Avenue, P.O. Box 6511, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. Gayle.Preheim@ucdenver.edu
authors.forename: Gayle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Preheim
authors.forename: Kathlynn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bader-Kail
authors.forename: Margaret E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Jana Fae Berryman
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: Rebekah S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Lynch
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D003120:Colorado; D003256:Community Participation / Q000379:methods; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate / Q000592:standards*; D005181:Faculty, Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration; D005544:Forecasting; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D007857:Leadership; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000458:organization & administration; D011231:Preceptorship / Q000592:standards; D016730:Program Development; D013338:Students, Nursing