University-based schools of nursing are the beating heart of professional identity in nursing. It is in the academic setting that nurses are free to set their own course, explore the edges and intersections of our interdisciplinary theories, and sit with complex questions.

Industry-based nursing practice is the lifeblood of professional identity in nursing. Without an intimate connection to real-world problems, we are doomed to irrelevance. Out of touch with the communities we’ve promised to serve.

Enter the scholar-practitioner.

When the ivory tower rolls up its sleeves and steps onto the frontlines. When the frontlines define a question and begin collecting data. When these two meet somewhere in the middle and join themselves at the hip. Working as one. Shared vision. Shared resources. Crafting together.