Collaboration by consortium.

Recognizing that collaboration is essential for the continuing development of the nursing profession, nursing leaders in the St. Louis area organized the Nursing Consortium for Research in Practice, uniting four university schools of nursing and four large hospitals. The aim of consortium is to assist nursing faculty and nursing service personnel in the conduct of collaborative clinical research. The consortium also seeks to educate nurses about research as a component of professional nursing practice and to assist them in implementing research findings in clinical practice. The efforts of the consortium during its first four years are discussed.