A Statewide Approach to Expanding Nursing Clinical Placements: Washington’s Clinical Placement Initiative

Abstract

Nationally, nursing schools report they’re unable to increase enrollments due to insufficient nurse faculty and clinical placement opportunities for students (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2022). This leads to schools rejecting qualified applicants into nursing programs. In 2023, the Washington State Legislature allocated resources to increase clinical education and practice experiences by facilitating communication between nursing programs and health care facilities. The purpose of this effort is to expand clinical placement opportunities to support increased program enrollment and address the nursing shortage.  The Washington Center for Nursing launched and directed the Clinical Placement Initiative from 2023-2025. The initiative convened regional and statewide stakeholders from education and healthcare organizations to inform the project with aims to improve communication and expand clinical placements opportunities for nursing students. The initiative includes conducting a clinical placement survey, introducing an online community for placement communications, and developing statewide recommendations. This paper describes the implementation of the Clinical Placement Initiative and includes a summary of findings and outcomes.