DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. — The Chamberlain College of Nursing and Walgreen Co. have teamed up to provide training opportunities for nursing students in a retail health clinic setting as well as advanced education programs for nurses.

Chamberlain said Tuesday that under the arrangement, the college’s advanced practice nursing students will get opportunity to gain retail-based, clinical practice experience at Walgreens’ Healthcare Clinics nationwide.

Meanwhile, Walgreens’ registered and advanced practice nurses will receive a group tuition rate for Chamberlain’s post-licensure degree programs to advance their education.

Walgreens and Chamberlain noted that the relationship helps prepare highly skilled, advanced practice nurses to provide primary care in nontraditional settings and responds to the rising consumer demand for access to affordable, convenient basic health care. The increased demand for primary care, driven in part by the Affordable Care Act and an aging population, also has fueled the increased use of retail health clinics, they added.

"Patients today are looking to community health care providers who offer convenient, cost-effective options for care, and this provides invaluable clinical experience for Chamberlain’s students," Heidi Wold, vice president of operations for the Walgreens Consumer Solutions Group, said in a statement. "There’s great synergy between our organizations to make a difference in health care, creating a pipeline of advanced practice nurses who are prepared to serve the needs of patients in the communities where they live and work."

Through the relationship, students enrolled in Chamberlain’s Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) specialty track and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree programs may participate in a clinical experience at Walgreens’ Healthcare Clinics.

Walgreens-affiliated health providers who meet admission requirements can receive a group tuition rate for Chamberlain’s Registered Nurse (RN) to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) online degree completion option, RN-BSN to MSN online option, MSN degree program including the FNP specialty track, DNP degree program and graduate certificates. Walgreens’ 70,000 affiliated health professionals include adult and family nurse practitioners and registered nurses, and they work in Walgreens pharmacy, infusion services, specialty pharmacy and other lines of business.

"Advanced practice nurses in the retail health clinic setting provide services spanning personal wellness and prevention and disease management for a broad patient population ranging in age and ethnicity," stated Carole Eldridge, director of graduate programs at Chamberlain College of Nursing. "This relationship gives registered nurses employed by Walgreens and Healthcare Clinic access to educational opportunities critical to this role and benefits Chamberlain’s advanced practice nursing students by offering necessary, hands-on clinical experience."