Establishing Affiliation Agreements with Clinical Agencies

Academic Services Memorandum No. 21

Establishing an affiliation agreement between the School of Nursing and the Clinical Site is required by the University of Washington for the placement of any student, graduate or undergraduate, in a clinical agency. Students who enter clinical sites in a student role without confirmation that an affiliation agreement is in place, risk dismissal from their programs of study.

Factors in Site Selection: Placement Coordinators in Academic Services or Faculty of the School of Nursing make the initial contacts with potential agencies/sites. Several factors are taken into consideration in selecting a clinical learning site. The primary factors are 1) the site supports student learning and 2) the site's current model of care fits course and program objectives. Additional factors considered in the selection are:

• there is a record of safe care delivery at the site
• the site is able to handle students without disrupting patient care
• the number of students to be placed at the site is appropriate to the number of patients and care delivery
• student safety at the site is assured
• members of the teaching faculty are familiar with the site
• the site has an appropriate ratio of diversity in patients and staff
• the quality of preceptors is excellent at the site
• a legal contract has been established between the UW School of Nursing and the clinical agency

Process of Establishing an Agreement with a Clinical Site

When interest in developing a relationship with a clinical agency has been established and arrangements with the agency's representative for student placements have been made, the coordinator or faculty member must check with Academic Services to ascertain whether an affiliation agreement already exists. If such an agreement does not exist, the coordinator or faculty member provides the following information to Academic Services so that the process of establishing an affiliation agreement between School and the clinical site may commence.

Based on the information below, the School's standard affiliation agreement is prepared. The affiliation agreement (two originals) is signed by the Dean of the School of Nursing and by the Executive Director of Health Sciences Administration. Originals and a letter from the Director of Academic Services are mailed to the site. If the clinical site finds the agreement satisfactory, the site returns a fully executed original for our records. This process take approximately four (4) to six (6) weeks or more and should begin a quarter BEFORE the student is to be placed.

To ascertain whether an affiliation agreement already exists, go to: https://www.son.washington.edu/faculty/support/forms/aasearch.asp

Information Needed to Initiate an Affiliation Agreement

1. Contact Initiated By: Name, department, date
2. Name of Clinical Site: Mailing address, telephone and fax numbers
3. Name & Title of Contact Person at Agency: Telephone and fax numbers
4. Name & Title of Person on Site Authorized to Sign the Agreement: Telephone number
5. Planned Quarter for Student Placement
6. Name of Graduate Student(s) or Name of BSN Class/Student
7. Name & Title of Student(s)' Preceptor: Telephone and fax numbers

Deviations from Standard Affiliation Agreement

Any deviation from the standard affiliation agreement (most often proposed by the clinical site) must first be reviewed and approved as to form by the Assistant Attorney General for the UW School of Nursing. This process can take six (6) to 14 months.

Review of Affiliation Agreements

Affiliation agreements on file are reviewed every three years.

Tri-campus Considerations

Since March 1999, affiliation agreements have been between the School of Nursing at Seattle, at Bothell and at Tacoma and the clinical sites. In this way all three campuses of the School are covered and duplication of contracts with an agency is avoided. The three campuses have agreed to check with one another regarding the existence of an agreement before initiating any agreement with a site for student placements. Each campus may refer to a list of agreements held by the other two campuses.

Revised January 2012