Department of Academic Practice Nursing

Angela Moss, PhD, MSN, APRN-BC, RN, FAAN

Chairperson, Department of Academic Practice Nursing

I am delighted to welcome you to the webpage for the RUSH University College of Nursing (CON) Department of Academic Practice Nursing! The Department of Academic Practice Nursing (DAPN) is built upon the College’s legacy practitioner-teacher and has existed since the founding of the CON in 1972. Truly we are built upon the shoulders of giants. Initially the RUSH nursing faculty practice was operationalized as a partnership with nurse educators working on each inpatient hospital unit. Later RUSH nursing faculty practice evolved as a partnership with Chicago Public Schools to provide school-based health care services.

Today the RUSH nursing faculty practice program is one of the largest, most mature and diverse formal academic nursing faculty practice programs in the United States. Collectively our department – the Department of Academic Practice Nursing – represents the clinical faculty practices of over 60 faculty RN and APRN clinicians, professional staff, and federal work study students providing clinical and nursing care services across over 20 academic practice partnerships. In the past year alone, the department supported 24 groups of prelicensure nursing student clinical rotations, 73 nurse practitioner clinical placements, 13 doctoral projects, 19 prelicensure capstone projects, and 36 federal work study learning opportunities. Our faculty support nearly all of the academic programs in the CON. 

The purpose of our department is to support the integration of practice into the CON’s tripartite mission of education, scholarship and service. We do this by creating innovative nurse-led practices to provide direct, community-based patient care to populations often marginalized by the healthcare system such as formerly incarcerated returning citizens, women and children fleeing domestic violence, people experiencing homelessness, and people suffering from untreated mental illness or substance use disorder.

We support CON-owned and operated brick and mortar clinical spaces as well as other place-based care delivery models through innovative community partnerships. Our partners include community-based organizations, government agencies, church groups, advocacy groups, social services providers such as transitional supportive housing facilities, and shelter providers.

Our work is innovative, intentionally interdisciplinary, and impactful. Our nurse-led faculty practice teams work alongside patients and other key stakeholders to address social determinants of health and health inequities to improve overall health outcomes. We work collaboratively with other institutions across the country, helping establish new faculty practice programs and contributing scholarly research to the field. Collectively as a department we strive to share our stories and lessons learned thereby contributing to nursing academic practice scholarship. 

The DAPN consistently provides:

1. Direct quality healthcare services to historically underserved populations
2. Unique learning experiences for our students doubling as powerful clinical placement and student recruitment opportunities
3. Fertile ground for impactful, health equity focused scholarly work for both faculty and students
4. Faculty recruitment and retention benefits by creating rewarding clinical practice opportunities for faculty
5. Contribution to community health and wellness while honoring community-driven focus
6. Evidence of the value of nurse-led innovative solutions to some of our nation’s most pressing contemporary healthcare challenges. 

I invite you to learn more about our important work and consider joining our team!