Partners in Simulation: Public Academic-Private Health Care Collaboration

Since its inception in 2003, the simulation center, the HealthPartners Simulation Center for Patient Safety at Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, Minnesota, continues to experience increasing demand for its programs and its expertise in curriculum development. The strength of the partnership has been its collaborative approach, alignment of interests, and willingness to adapt to relatively rapid changes. By consciously defining the center as a place for educating clinicians who are providers of advanced levels of care, with the primary emphasis being on critical care, emergency medicine, and inpatient nursing, the center has been able to retain its focus and not become distracted in producing disparate programs. An academic–industry collaboration can be a successful model for establishing a simulation center supporting the educational needs of both entities. Awareness of operational, educational, and community requirements and continual monitoring of the progress of the center's programs, personnel, and policies are required.