Associated practice: a case for professional collaboration.

The establishment of a successful nurse-physician associated practice requires planning, patience, and a willingness to take calculated risks. The nurse executive can lend credibility and support to the nurse in associated practice by understanding the concept, providing a climate for acceptance of such practices, and by clarifying the role of the nurse associate in relation to other professionals in the organization. In this article the authors describe models for associated practice, as well as the measures necessary to ensure peer and patient acceptance and effective health care delivery.