Humber College and William Osler Health System (Osler) have launched a new Academic Practice Partnership that will advance nursing education, scholarship and research between the two institutions.

It’s a first of its kind partnership between a Canadian college and a health system for nursing education, scholarship, practice and the advancement of excellence in patient care.  

“Building on our longstanding relationship and partnership with Osler, this new Academic Practice Partnership is focused on education, research and practice,” says Sandra Filice, associate dean of Nursing and Personal Support Worker, Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellness. “Striving to achieve excellence in clinical education, professional nursing practice and scholarship to enhance the health of the Osler community.”  

The partnership will create a collaborative program of nursing education and promote scholarship and research between Osler and Humber as doctoral-prepared faculty will share their expertise and engage in joint research to benefit clinical education and patient experience.  

It will also create and deliver a clinical education model that supports excellence in clinical nursing education and will share lessons learned with other health professions and stakeholders to build interprofessional education and care capacity.

Cohorts of 40 Humber Bachelor of Science – Nursing students will benefit from consistent Osler placements for the duration of their studies. It provides opportunities for students to study and practice in a dedicated Osler clinical practice and attain work-integrated learning experience in various practice areas.  

In turn, this leads to the opportunity for students to become staff at Osler where they have already established relationships with peers and mentors. 

The students’ clinical placements will be in areas including rehabilitation, maternal child, mental health, pediatrics and adult medical surgical as well as community and clinic settings that are part of the Osler community. Providing students with dedicated clinical placements will help ensure a more efficient orientation and onboarding experience for both the students and Osler teams.  

Students in Year 2 of future cohorts will be eligible to participate in the program.  

There will also be a strong focus on improving patient outcomes and the health of the broader Osler community as part of the partnership with an emphasis on underserved and vulnerable populations.  

National Nursing Week is an annual celebration and runs from May 8 to May 14 this year. The week draws attention to nurses, increasing the awareness of the public, policymakers and governments of the many contributions of nursing to the well-being of Canadians.