Merging the departments of psychiatry of a private and state university: the Nebraska experience.

Medical colleges throughout the nation are being pressured to decrease the costs of medical education. In some of our smaller cities, the duplication of faculty expertise and costly technological resources at distinct but neighboring campuses has led to training costs far beyond what can be comfortably supported by either the institutions or their students. While the trend toward collaboration or mergers between identical medical departments on adjacent campuses is gaining ground, the methods required to achieve success in these ventures remain relatively uncharted. This paper provides an overview of the creation of successful merger between the departments of Psychiatry of Creighton University School of Medicine and the University of Nebraska College of Medicine. The development of the merger from conception to completion, along with the lessons learned along the way, are offered in the hope that other medical departments may benefit.