Co-designing an industry-academic postgraduate professional education framework for emergency nursing

Abstract Background This paper describes an evidence-based co-designed study with clinical-academic stakeholders from hospital and university settings. Hospitals and university providers in Australia invest significant but separate resources for postgraduate curricula, resulting in duplication of curricula and resources in the health and higher education sectors. Methods Using emergency nursing as an exemplar, we co-designed an industry-academic postgraduate education framework that integrated the needs and resources of the health and higher education sectors to streamline postgraduate students’ professional learning. Results Outcomes include matrices synchronising professional and regulatory imperatives of postgraduate nursing coursework; mutually-shaped curriculum content, teaching approaches and assessment strategies relevant for postgraduate education; a University-Industry Academic Integration Framework; five guiding principles of postgraduate curriculum development for university-industry curriculum co-design; and a Graduate Certificate of Emergency Nursing curriculum exemplar. Conclusion Industry-academic co-design can increase the relevance of postgraduate specialist courses in nursing, strengthening the nexus between both entities to advance learning and employability.