Construction of a nursing internship system through institutional collaboration: current status, challenges, and optimization pathways.

Nursing internship serves as a pivotal link between nursing education and clinical practice, functioning as a key platform for cultivating applied nursing professionals. The university-hospital collaboration model integrates the resource advantages of both academic institutions and medical institutions, promoting the deep integration of theoretical knowledge and clinical skills, thereby significantly enhancing the practical abilities and professional competitiveness of nursing undergraduates. Although this model has achieved positive results in expanding practical opportunities, deepening resource sharing, and strengthening professional competence cultivation, it still faces prominent issues such as uneven mentor qualifications, inadequate pre-service training systems, incomplete internship management mechanisms, insufficient student rights protection, and weakened practical education functions. This paper proposes that standardized selection and training of mentors, the establishment of a comprehensive practical teaching system, enhanced protection of interns' rights and safety, implementation of humanistic care and psychological support, and the creation of a university-hospital collaborative management mechanism should be adopted to standardize nursing education and precisely align with clinical needs. The optimized university-hospital collaboration model can effectively improve the quality of nursing talent cultivation, stabilize the nursing workforce, adapt to the demands of public health services, promote professionalization and high-quality development in nursing, and provide solid talent support for the implementation of the Healthy China strategy.