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2012 MAGNET ® UPDATE<br />

<strong>Recognizing</strong> <strong>Nursing</strong> <strong>Excellence</strong><br />

Special<br />

Section


MAGNET PROFILES UPDATE<br />

Compelling reasons to seek<br />

ANCC Magnet Recognition ®<br />

Welcome to our special Magnet ® Update section.<br />

In these pages, you’ll find out how organizations<br />

are enacting Magnet principles.<br />

If your organization isn’t yet a Magnet facility,<br />

consider these top 10 reasons for seeking Magnet<br />

recognition:<br />

10. Boosts organizational pride<br />

9. Increases nurses’ professionalism<br />

8. Improves nurse retention and attracts top talent<br />

7. Engages coworkers to collaborate for efficient<br />

and effective care<br />

6. Fosters appreciation for everyone’s role in<br />

the patient experience<br />

5. Reinforces the standards<br />

of nursing practice<br />

4. Advances evidence-based<br />

practice and allows sharing<br />

of best practices<br />

3. Taps innovative ideas of nurses on the front<br />

lines<br />

2. Highlights nursing’s essential role in improving<br />

the safety and quality of care<br />

1. Demonstrates a commitment to better patient<br />

outcomes through nursing excellence<br />

We hope the articles in this section encourage<br />

you to apply for Magnet recognition. If your facility<br />

has already earned Magnet recognition, we think<br />

you'll find these articles useful as you promote a<br />

culture of collaboration and positive outcomes.<br />

Pamela F. Cipriano, PhD, RN, FAAN, NEA-BC<br />

Editor-in-Chief<br />

You better.<br />

<br />

As one of the region’s leading Magnet ® hospital systems, we’re<br />

committed to providing you with the resources, support and<br />

opportunities you need to deliver better healthcare. But that’s<br />

just the beginning!<br />

Explore These Opportunities For RNs!<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

Enjoy work-life balance, unit and ongoing education, and on-site<br />

child care. To apply, please visit: www.mwhccareers.com<br />

at UNC Health Care<br />

Find Career Opportunities in Chapel Hill, NC<br />

www.unchealthcareers.org<br />

An equal opportunity employer.<br />

42 <strong>American</strong> <strong>Nurse</strong> <strong>Today</strong> Volume 7, Number 3 www.<strong>American</strong><strong>Nurse</strong><strong>Today</strong>.com


Recession, reform,<br />

redesignation—oh my!<br />

Find out how to energize staff for Magnet ®<br />

redesignation in challenging times.<br />

By Carolyn Ramwell, MSN, RN; Jean Blankenship, MSN, RN, PHCNS BC, CDE;<br />

and Mary Wolfe, AAS, RN<br />

MAGNET UPDATE<br />

<strong>Nurse</strong>s have built on the legacy of past decades<br />

to become empowered, collaborative, outcome-oriented<br />

healthcare team members.<br />

Every nursing generation has had champions<br />

who’ve embodied a new nursing paradigm. In this<br />

young century, the champion isn’t a single person<br />

or symbol but individual nurses at each bedside,<br />

hospital, home, or clinic who embody the values of<br />

Magnet ® excellence.<br />

<strong>Today</strong>’s healthcare environment and economic<br />

climate pose unique challenges. In the current<br />

somber reality, how can we infuse staff with the optimism<br />

and pride of the Magnet journey? How do<br />

we excite and invigorate nursing colleagues? Is the<br />

cheer leading of the past appropriate?<br />

Quality outcomes, evidence-based practice,<br />

and shared decision making<br />

When the Magnet Champion Committee at Martha<br />

Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, Virginia, faced<br />

these questions during our 2011 Magnet redesignation<br />

drive, we came up with creative solutions. Our<br />

Magnet champions became grounded for the redesignation<br />

journey by focusing on nurse-driven quality<br />

outcomes, evidence-based practice, staff empowerment,<br />

and opportunities for kindness and gratitude.<br />

We celebrated organizational outcomes for patient<br />

satisfaction and patient falls and pressure-ulcer prevention,<br />

validating nurses’ power to significantly<br />

improve patient outcomes. Use of data from the National<br />

Database of <strong>Nursing</strong> Quality Indicators ® for<br />

annual nurse satisfaction provided opportunities for<br />

national benchmarking and collaborative recognition<br />

at the unit level.<br />

Our shared governance (SG) councils demonstrate<br />

leadership and empowerment through advancing<br />

evidence-based practice, committing to professional<br />

development, adopting new knowledge, and taking<br />

responsibility for quality outcomes. This enculturated<br />

SG model says loudly to each nurse, “We are our<br />

own heroes” who define our practice and own our<br />

outcomes through quality improvement, leadership,<br />

and collaborative practice.<br />

The pride nurses showed at our Magnet site visit<br />

when they shared stories<br />

of nurse-led practice<br />

changes spoke to the<br />

success of our SG model. Small issues can be vitally<br />

important to staff, and favorable resolution can<br />

dramatically affect their work satisfaction. For example,<br />

a change in emergency-department policy<br />

allowed staff to have covered beverages at their<br />

work stations—a huge satisfier in a fast-paced environment<br />

where hydration is important and breaks<br />

are unpredictable.<br />

Monthly electronic “dashboards” provide nursesensitive<br />

quality-indicator measures as well as patient,<br />

physician, and nurse satisfaction data. Data<br />

are reviewed at unit and hospital-wide SG council<br />

meetings and staff meetings. Magnet champions<br />

have raised staff awareness of unit-level data and<br />

involved staff in actions to maintain or improve<br />

outcomes. We celebrate excellent performance at<br />

staff meetings, SG council meetings, and Magnet<br />

champion meetings. <strong>Nurse</strong>s have ownership of the<br />

information, as their dashboards directly reflect<br />

their unit’s practice.<br />

Effective redesignation strategies<br />

Enculturation of a shared decision-making model is<br />

essential for success. SG council members and Magnet<br />

champions supported our Magnet redesignation<br />

journey by participating in multidisciplinary<br />

focus groups to gather evidence for redesignation<br />

documents. Champions used creative strategies to<br />

engage staff across all shifts in preparing for Magnet<br />

appraiser site visits through information exchange<br />

using games, posters, brown-bag lunches,<br />

and celebration of Magnet moments at staff meetings,<br />

on intranet web pages, and at shift-change<br />

“huddles.” With minimal impact on unit budgets,<br />

small gifts and food items, “Wordles” (text rearranged<br />

into a visual pattern) from our Magnet<br />

document, and unit-level scrapbooks filled with examples<br />

of nursing excellence helped staff celebrate<br />

redesignation.<br />

Magnet champions communicated information<br />

to staff to ease anxieties about the site visit. Mag-<br />

www.<strong>American</strong><strong>Nurse</strong><strong>Today</strong>.com March 2012 <strong>American</strong> <strong>Nurse</strong> <strong>Today</strong> 43


MAGNET UPDATE<br />

Carilion Clinic<br />

1906 Belleview Avenue<br />

Roanoke, VA 24014<br />

800-599-2537<br />

Dana Johnson<br />

dejohnson@carilionclinic.org<br />

www.CarilionClinic.org<br />

Level 1 trauma center.<br />

Aspire to be among the best.<br />

Carilion nurses are…<br />

• Committed to finding better ways to<br />

improve the health of the communities<br />

we serve.<br />

• Thriving in an empowered practice<br />

environment that is guided by transformational<br />

leaders.<br />

• Dedicated to the professional development<br />

and advancement of nurses<br />

as expert practitioners, researchers,<br />

teachers, and mentors.<br />

• Respected and rewarded for the work<br />

they do within the hospital and<br />

among many communities in southwest<br />

Virginia.<br />

• Actively engaged in interdisciplinary<br />

evidence-based initiatives that improve<br />

patient care and safety using<br />

the most advanced technologies and<br />

innovative strategies.<br />

Carilion Clinic is an Equal Employment<br />

Opportunity/Affirmative Action<br />

Employer.<br />

Children’s National Medical<br />

Center<br />

111 Michigan Ave, NW<br />

Washington, DC 20010<br />

202-476-5397<br />

Sharon Livingston, MA, BSN, RN<br />

slivings@childrensnational.org<br />

www.childrensnational.org<br />

303 Beds<br />

Level IIIC NICU; Level I pediatric<br />

trauma center; Critical Care Transport<br />

Teams; Magnet recognized facility;<br />

NICU, CICU & PICU received Beacon<br />

Award for Critical Care <strong>Excellence</strong>;<br />

Regional referral center for cancer,<br />

cardiac, orthopaedic surgery, neurology,<br />

and neurosurgery.<br />

Children’s National Medical Center,<br />

located in Washington, D.C., is a proven<br />

leader in the development of innovative<br />

new treatments for childhood illness<br />

and injury. For more information about<br />

Children’s National Medical Center,<br />

visit www.childrensnational.org.<br />

Cleveland Clinic: Main Campus<br />

& Fairview Hospital<br />

9500 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44195<br />

216.448.0305<br />

Katie Cwalinski<br />

kcwalins@ccf.org<br />

clevelandclinic.jobs<br />

Cleveland Clinic is ranked as one of the<br />

nation’s top four hospitals by U.S.News<br />

& World Report. Both our Main Campus<br />

and Fairview Hospital have achieved<br />

Magnet Status. Visit clevelandclinic.org<br />

for more information.<br />

MedStar Franklin Square<br />

Medical Center<br />

9000 Franklin Square Drive<br />

Baltimore, MD 21237<br />

443-777-7045<br />

medstarfranklin.org<br />

Michael Clancy<br />

michael.clancy@medstar.net<br />

400 Beds (all private rooms)<br />

MedStar Franklin Square is a community<br />

teaching hospital in eastern Baltimore<br />

County. We offer a broad range of<br />

healthcare specialties, advanced technologies<br />

and treatments. We are accredited<br />

by the Joint Commission, Primary<br />

Stroke Center certified and Magnet designated,<br />

as well as the recipient of numerous<br />

local and national quality awards.<br />

We are a member of MedStar Health,<br />

the region’s largest integrated health<br />

system, repeatedly named a “Best Place<br />

to Work.”<br />

Mary Washington Healthcare<br />

2300 Fall Hill Ave., Suite 207<br />

Fredericksburg, VA 22401<br />

540-741-1399<br />

Darla Burton<br />

darla.burton@mwhc.com<br />

http://www.mwhccareers.com<br />

Beds: Fredericksburg, 437; Stafford, 100<br />

Mary Washington Healthcare consists<br />

of two leading hospitals and 28 facilities<br />

and wellness services including the<br />

Human Motion Institute, Neuroscience<br />

Center, Regional Cancer Center, Virginia<br />

Heart & Vascular Institute and Women’s<br />

Health Institute.<br />

Magnet ® facilities<br />

outperform other hospitals<br />

in both recruiting and<br />

retaining nursing<br />

professionals, resulting in<br />

higher employee satisfaction<br />

and lower staff turnover.<br />

2012 National Magnet<br />

Conference ® will be held<br />

October 10-12<br />

in Los Angeles, California.<br />

www.anccmagnetconference.org<br />

UNC Health Care<br />

101 Manning Drive<br />

Chapel Hill, NC 27514<br />

919-966-2012 or<br />

1-800-852-NURSE (toll-free)<br />

<strong>Nurse</strong> Employment Office<br />

www.UNCHealthCare.org<br />

803 Beds<br />

Beacon Award for Critical Care <strong>Excellence</strong><br />

– <strong>American</strong> Association of Critical<br />

Care <strong>Nurse</strong>s. Our Cardiothoracic<br />

Intensive Care Unit was a recipient in<br />

2008, 2010 and our Cardiac Intensive<br />

Care Unit received the award in 2010.<br />

44 <strong>American</strong> <strong>Nurse</strong> <strong>Today</strong> Volume 7, Number 3 www.<strong>American</strong><strong>Nurse</strong><strong>Today</strong>.com


net preparation was added to unit-level<br />

and hospital meetings as a standing<br />

agenda item. Redesignation documents<br />

were posted on the hospital intranet for<br />

staff to read. Magnet champions identified<br />

parts of the documents where their<br />

units were recognized, and highlighted<br />

these stories for staff.<br />

Champions and others in the organization<br />

were encouraged to submit abstracts<br />

to the National Magnet Conference<br />

® as a way to share and celebrate<br />

organizational successes. A nursing endowment<br />

gift allowed all interested<br />

Magnet champions to attend the conference<br />

celebrating our redesignation.<br />

Accepted authors for podium or poster<br />

presentations got organizational support<br />

to attend the conference.<br />

As a low-cost, high-benefit strategy,<br />

we collaborated on a mock survey in April 2011<br />

with another Virginia Magnet hospital applying for<br />

redesignation at the same time. During this visit,<br />

two nurse leaders appraised our staff as a Magnet<br />

surveyor would, providing an outsider’s objective<br />

look at our organization. Staff nurses responded<br />

positively to the process. They began to see the<br />

mock survey as an opportunity to be recognized for<br />

the care they deliver. The mock survey also guided<br />

Evaluating Magnet ® redesignation<br />

preparation<br />

After the Magnet appraisers’ site visit, nursing staff were asked to complete<br />

a survey (n = 77) to evaluate the effectiveness of our redesignation preparation<br />

process. Here are the nurses’ top five responses to the question “Which<br />

of these activities was most helpful in preparing you for our Magnet redesignation<br />

site visit?”:<br />

• Active participation on a committee, team, or shared governance council<br />

• Preparation activities by Magnet champions<br />

• Formal prep sessions with the Magnet coordinator, Magnet program<br />

director, or Magnet steering committee<br />

• Information provided at unit-level staff meetings<br />

• “Mock” site visit in April 2011 with support from Virginia Magnet Consortium<br />

colleagues<br />

our champions to focus on discussion of unit-level<br />

data and highlight work-design changes that have<br />

boosted nurse satisfaction. The mock survey helped<br />

staff view the site visit as a chance to showcase<br />

their excellence in nursing practice.<br />

More on Magnet champions<br />

Magnet champions were chosen for their demonstrated<br />

enthusiasm and dedication to nursing.<br />

MAGNET UPDATE<br />

KEVIN<br />

Registered <strong>Nurse</strong><br />

WE’VE BUILT OUR REPUTATION AS AN<br />

EXCELLENT EMPLOYER, ONE PERSON AT A TIME.<br />

The benefits of working as a nurse at VCU Health System<br />

are clear. We’re a Magnet ® hospital – the first in Richmond<br />

to achieve this prestigious designation and the first to gain<br />

re-designation, a seven-time Working Mother magazine “100<br />

Best Company,” a 2011 Richmond Employer of Choice and a<br />

recipient of the 2011 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Workplace<br />

Flexibility. As a great place for work/life balance, we provide<br />

child and elder care, flexible work options, extensive medical<br />

benefits, competitive pay and pre-paid tuition. Everything you<br />

need for a wonderful nursing career can be found here at VCUHS.<br />

Discover all that VCU Health System<br />

has to offer at www.VCUHS.jobs.<br />

What’s it like at the top? You can fi nd out at Cleveland Clinic,<br />

consistently rated by U.S.News and World Report as one of the<br />

best hospitals in the country. Cleveland Clinic is a great career<br />

choice for nursing professionals who know that where they<br />

practice is often as important as how they practice.<br />

Be a world class caregiver.<br />

clevelandclinic.org/ant<br />

EOE/AA. Women, minorities, veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.<br />

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Smoke-free/drug-free environment.<br />

www.<strong>American</strong><strong>Nurse</strong><strong>Today</strong>.com March 2012 <strong>American</strong> <strong>Nurse</strong> <strong>Today</strong> 45


MAGNET UPDATE<br />

Experience first-hand<br />

the difference Magnet<br />

Designation ® makes<br />

<strong>Nurse</strong>s at MedStar Franklin Square Medical<br />

Center in Baltimore, Maryland are proud to<br />

deliver excellence in patient care worthy of<br />

the nation’s most prestigious honor - Magnet<br />

Recognition ® . We thrive in a shared decisionmaking<br />

environment where our voice is heard<br />

at every level of the organization. We forge<br />

strong interdisciplinary partnerships to meet<br />

the unique needs of each patient entrusted<br />

to our care.<br />

Join us and experience first-hand our<br />

commitment to excellence and the difference<br />

YOU can make at MedStar Franklin Square.<br />

Champion meetings focused on celebrating the<br />

commitment to high-quality nursing care and helping<br />

champions spread their enthusiasm across their<br />

units. Monthly meetings gave champions opportunities<br />

to share with others the ideas that worked on<br />

their units, as well as to create props (chocolate<br />

kisses, magnets for lockers, lapel pins, flash cards,<br />

Jeopardy games, and bulletin boards) to help them<br />

celebrate Magnet redesignation throughout the organization.<br />

Magnet champion strategies varied from unit to<br />

unit but shared a common theme. Champions<br />

were responsible for developing and finding creative<br />

ways to share the theme for our Magnet journey.<br />

A schematic depiction of the Journey to Magnet<br />

<strong>Excellence</strong> was turned into a jigsaw puzzle in<br />

a family waiting room to share our journey with<br />

our community. In October 2011, champions decorated<br />

pumpkins for their units that served as icebreakers<br />

for Magnet discussions where nurses<br />

shared their stories. Stories were collected for bulletin<br />

boards, photo albums, scrapbooks, and<br />

posters. “Magnet Moments” became part of our<br />

shift-change huddles. Our champions focused on<br />

practicing gratitude, being creative, and remembering<br />

to find joy in the journey.<br />

To avoid “Magnet fatigue,” overstimulation, and<br />

message overload, our champions shared information<br />

in succinct communications. They alternated<br />

communication methods, including e-mails, bulletin<br />

boards, scrapbook updates, and face-to-face<br />

conversations. During a particularly busy month,<br />

they took a formal communication “break.” One<br />

champion described our Magnet journey as a progressive<br />

dinner that would take time, rather than<br />

a Thanksgiving feast we would prepare and eat<br />

all at once. (See Evaluating Magnet redesignation<br />

preparation.)<br />

Cost-effective and successful<br />

We spent about $10,000 less preparing for our<br />

Magnet redesignation site visit than we did for<br />

our initial Magnet designation site visit. The real<br />

measure of our success came on July 21, 2011,<br />

when we found out we’d achieved Magnet redesignation.<br />

The true value in our redesignation is<br />

knowing that our organizational commitment to<br />

excellence remains a priority despite healthcare<br />

complexities, the economic downturn, and competing<br />

priorities. A passion for excellence is our<br />

“true north”—and Magnet is the compass that<br />

guides our journey.<br />

■<br />

443-777-7045 phone<br />

medstarfranklin.org/nursing<br />

The authors work at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, Virginia. Carolyn<br />

Ramwell is a clinical nurse in the free-standing emergency department and a<br />

member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Phoenix. Jean Blankenship is<br />

the Magnet coordinator. Mary Wolfe is a clinical nurse IV and shift coordinator in<br />

the free-standing emergency department.<br />

46 <strong>American</strong> <strong>Nurse</strong> <strong>Today</strong> Volume 7, Number 3 www.<strong>American</strong><strong>Nurse</strong><strong>Today</strong>.com


Breaking competitive<br />

barriers: The Colorado<br />

Magnet ® Collaborative<br />

Through a regional collaborative, Magnet Program Directors<br />

achieve more together than any one director could achieve alone.<br />

MAGNET UPDATE<br />

By Danielle H. Schloffman, MSN, RN, NE-BC; Jeanine M. Rundquist, MSN, RN, CRRN; Kathleen A. Bradley, DNPc,<br />

RN, NEA-BC; Zachary D. Mueller, DNP, RN, NEA-BC; Donna D. Poduska, MS, RN, NE-BC, NEA-BC; and Meredith<br />

C. Taylor, BSN, RN, OCN<br />

Magnet ® organizations have been shown to<br />

deliver exceptional patient care and outcomes<br />

and to demonstrate a culture of patient<br />

safety and collaborative work environments.<br />

Each individual Magnet organization is strong, but a<br />

group of Magnet organizations working together as<br />

a collaborative can have an even greater influence<br />

on the work environment and patient experience.<br />

The Colorado Magnet Program Director (MPD)<br />

Collaborative consists of eight diverse Magnet organizations,<br />

including an acute rehabilitation hospital,<br />

a pediatric hospital, an academic medical center,<br />

and five community-based hospitals. Magnet organizations<br />

are expected to mentor other organizations.<br />

Through this collaborative, we share best practices<br />

with peer Magnet and non-Magnet organizations,<br />

nurture professional nursing in our state, and improve<br />

healthcare outcomes for our communities.<br />

Collaborative benefits<br />

Partnering as a group of exceptional healthcare organizations<br />

brings benefits—yet it can pose challenges.<br />

Most of the organizations in our collaborative<br />

are part of their own separate health systems,<br />

meaning they compete with each other. Nonetheless,<br />

we’ve been able to put competitiveness aside<br />

and break down the barriers between us. The Magnet<br />

Recognition Program ® gives member organizations<br />

a shared purpose that serves as the platform to<br />

build relationships among the MPDs in each program.<br />

Formalizing our relationship into a collaborative<br />

partnership brings even greater achievements.<br />

The MPD role can be lonely; other professionals<br />

in the organization may have difficulty understanding<br />

the demands and complexities of the<br />

MPD role. The collaborative allows MPDs to connect<br />

with peers who can provide emotional support,<br />

consultation, and advice. Equally crucial, it<br />

allows MPDs to share innovations that enhance<br />

their own organizations and patient care.<br />

Other benefits of the collaborative include helping<br />

each other interpret Magnet standards and expectations<br />

and helping each other prepare for document<br />

submission, Magnet appraiser site visits,<br />

and post-appraisal debriefings. We accomplish<br />

these goals by meeting quarterly, alternating sites.<br />

Joint events<br />

To meet Magnet expectations, each member organization<br />

in the collaborative already was mentoring<br />

aspiring Magnet organizations at the local, state,<br />

and national levels. In August 2010, we held a<br />

joint event to mentor other Colorado organizations;<br />

invitations had been e-mailed to all chief<br />

nursing officers (CNOs) and MPDs in the state. The<br />

agenda included assessing readiness for the Magnet<br />

journey, the MPD’s role, Magnet document<br />

preparation, and challenges and barriers. More<br />

than 50 professionals representing 26 organizations<br />

attended. Evaluations were positive. Here’s a<br />

sampling: “Most useful program for Magnet journey<br />

to date” and “I enjoyed the collaboration of<br />

the various (Magnet) hospitals.” This feedback motivated<br />

us to continue the tradition.<br />

We used comments from these evaluations to<br />

build the agenda for our next event in August 2011.<br />

We expanded the joint session to encompass a full<br />

8-hour day. Again, all Colorado CNOs and MPDs<br />

were invited. Registrants came from 27 organizations;<br />

more than 100 people attended. Some organizations<br />

brought their entire leadership team, including<br />

several interdisciplinary team members. Based<br />

on feedback from our first event, we added a review<br />

of the Magnet Model Components, along with other<br />

topics, such as keys to staff engagement and preparing<br />

staff for the site visit. Also, we provided a CNO<br />

panel, which gave attendees insight into the CNO’s<br />

perspective of the Magnet journey and offered a<br />

question-answer forum. Like the first event, this one<br />

offered continuing-education credit hours.<br />

www.<strong>American</strong><strong>Nurse</strong><strong>Today</strong>.com March 2012 <strong>American</strong> <strong>Nurse</strong> <strong>Today</strong> 47


MAGNET UPDATE<br />

While evaluation feedback from this event was<br />

positive overall, the responses reflected varying levels<br />

of knowledge about the Magnet Model Components<br />

and the Magnet journey. For 2012, the challenge is<br />

to meet the needs of a diverse audience and address<br />

the wide range of Magnet-related knowledge.<br />

Mock site visits<br />

One of the most stressful times for an MPD is the<br />

Magnet appraiser site visit. To help prepare staff for<br />

anticipated questions and build confidence in their<br />

interactions with appraisers, our collaborative held<br />

mock site visits. These visits, conducted by the various<br />

MPDs, were designed to emulate an actual site<br />

visit. They were scheduled 4 to 6 weeks before the actual<br />

appraiser visit to give ample time for improvements<br />

and staff education, if necessary. To prepare<br />

for the visits, the collaborative developed a list of 60<br />

questions. Each organization chose mandatory questions<br />

to ask staff during the mock visit, based on gap<br />

analysis. The mock appraisers (Colorado MPDs)<br />

were escorted by staff members from the host organization,<br />

who would later escort Magnet appraisers<br />

for the actual site visit. The appraisers completed<br />

20- to 30-minute visits of each area. Staff escorts and<br />

mock appraisers took notes of findings and recommendations.<br />

The mock visits took 4 to 5 hours. Afterward,<br />

debriefings were held with Magnet teams and<br />

nursing leaders to share strengths, vulnerabilities,<br />

and opportunities for improvement. Each MPD was<br />

expected to maintain professionalism and confidentiality<br />

during and after mock site visits.<br />

Sharing information, ideas, and educational<br />

tools<br />

Our collaborative has broken through the competitive<br />

barriers between us by sharing information,<br />

ideas, and educational tools and by offering feedback.<br />

Members share ideas to inspire staff in the<br />

continuing Magnet journey. Innovation and creativity<br />

are essential to promoting staff engagement.<br />

MPDs feel ownership for this creativity. For example,<br />

one organization completed an educational<br />

tool for staff before the site visit. This pocket-sized<br />

guide, organized according to the Magnet model,<br />

listed important elements of the organization’s<br />

Magnet application. The idea was shared in the<br />

collaborative and used as a template for future site<br />

visits by all member organizations. Other shared<br />

ideas include a Magnet fair involving games, word<br />

puzzles, poster competitions, door prizes, physician<br />

information sheets, samples of electronic and written<br />

communication, unit-specific toolkits,<br />

MPD/CNO open forums, weekly huddles for Magnet<br />

teams, and targeted committee preparation.<br />

Reaching beyond the collaborative<br />

Our collaborative has established community part-<br />

Connecting To What Really Matters:<br />

Patients and Families<br />

Children’s National Medical Center is designated as a Magnet ® * Hospital.<br />

Our dedicated Professional Registered <strong>Nurse</strong>s have earned this designation<br />

because of their exemplary care and outcomes. Our nurses acknowledge<br />

that their practice allows the special “gift” to enter “sacred spaces” between<br />

children and their families.<br />

This relationship is part of a precious circle where trust is implicit and where<br />

professional nurses are part of the patient and family’s joys and challenges.<br />

We are proud to be a Magnet ® Hospital:<br />

• Transformational Leadership;<br />

• Structural Empowerment;<br />

• Exemplary Professional Practice;<br />

• New Knowledge, Innovations, and Improvements;<br />

and • Empirical Outcomes.<br />

For additional information, please visit: www.childrensnational.org/nursing<br />

eoe, m/f/d/v<br />

*Magnet status<br />

is granted by the<br />

<strong>American</strong> <strong>Nurse</strong>s<br />

Credentialing Center,<br />

the world’s largest<br />

nurse credentialing<br />

organization and<br />

a subsidiary of the<br />

<strong>American</strong> <strong>Nurse</strong>s<br />

Association (ANA).<br />

The Magnet<br />

Recognition<br />

Program ® , ANCC<br />

Magnet Recognition ® ,<br />

Magnet ® , National<br />

Magnet Conference ®<br />

names and logos are<br />

registered trademarks<br />

of the <strong>American</strong><br />

<strong>Nurse</strong>s Credentialing<br />

Center. Journey to<br />

Magnet <strong>Excellence</strong> TM<br />

is a trademark of the<br />

<strong>American</strong> <strong>Nurse</strong>s<br />

Credentialing Center.<br />

All rights reserved.<br />

48 <strong>American</strong> <strong>Nurse</strong> <strong>Today</strong> Volume 7, Number 3 www.<strong>American</strong><strong>Nurse</strong><strong>Today</strong>.com


Tangible take-aways<br />

Tangible take-away points from the Colorado Magnet®<br />

Program Director Collaborative include professional practice<br />

models, clinical innovations, evidence-based practice<br />

models, leadership structures, educational tools, guest presentations,<br />

and marketing materials.<br />

ners by reaching out to home care agencies, senior<br />

care facilities, ambulatory settings, academic institutions,<br />

and professional organizations. Members of<br />

our collaborative act as content experts to provide<br />

education about the Magnet journey and achieving<br />

Magnet recognition. MPDs also partner with local<br />

universities to expose nursing students to the Magnet<br />

culture. We partner with each other as a speaker’s<br />

bureau on Magnet-related topics, acting as consultants<br />

to support organizations in the collaborative—<br />

and beyond. We also have cohosted visitors from<br />

London, Switzerland, Australia, and Lebanon, serving<br />

as mentors for their organizations in their own<br />

pursuit of Magnet recognition.<br />

Reaping the benefits<br />

Colorado MPD Collaborative members have found<br />

the benefits of being in the collaborative far outweigh<br />

the challenges. (See Tangible take-aways.) MPDs<br />

have a unique perspective, focusing on promoting<br />

professionalism and advancing nursing practice. The<br />

collaborative provides the support and relationships<br />

needed to achieve these tangible outcomes.<br />

Our plans include developing a formal charter,<br />

connecting with the Colorado Hospital Association<br />

and Colorado Organization of <strong>Nurse</strong> Leaders, and<br />

developing a collaborative for MPDs on the Magnet<br />

journey. Partnering with state organizations will give<br />

our collaborative greater reach in promoting the future<br />

of nursing through the Magnet framework.<br />

We’ve found that collaborating has immeasurable<br />

value. Together, we can achieve more than any<br />

one MPD could achieve alone.<br />

■<br />

Looking for a bigger and brighter future? We are expanding our team of experienced<br />

cardiac RNs at the Winchester Medical Center, our award-winning 445-bed Magnet<br />

facility within Valley Health. Our unprecedented $160 million expansion project is<br />

nearly completed, and our stunning North Tower now includes 48 new state-of-the-art<br />

critical care beds . . . and soon also a new 16-bed step-down unit. Our CVSICU is a<br />

proud recipient of the BEACON AWARD, so you can be certain that you will be among<br />

the best of the best in critical care nursing today. We are the only Level II Trauma<br />

Center and Certifi ed Chest Pain Center with PCI in the region – and the only Acute<br />

Heart Failure Accredited Facility in Virginia. Managing heart disease is an absolute<br />

priority here at the Winchester Medical Center. Urgent, newly emerging and chronic<br />

heart conditions are expertly diagnosed and treated utilizing evidence-based practice<br />

guidelines by our highly qualifi ed and compassionate staff. In short, we offer the<br />

perfect environment for cardiac RNs to thrive.<br />

ASK ABOUT OUR $5,000<br />

SIGN-ON BONUS!<br />

UP TO $3,000 FOR RELOCATION!<br />

WINCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER<br />

RN OPPORTUNITIES<br />

HEART & VASCULAR CENTER –<br />

CLINICAL NURSE SPECIALISTS<br />

CRITICAL CARE UNITS – STAFF RNS<br />

SURGICAL TELEMETRY STEP-DOWN –<br />

RN INTERNSHIP PROGRAM<br />

TELEMETRY MONITORING – SUPERVISING RNS<br />

We’re looking for RNs with a dedication to excellence that matches our own. Valley<br />

Health is just 70 miles from Washington, D.C., yet removed from the day-to-day hassles<br />

of today’s busy metropolitan areas. We offer competitive salaries and a dynamic<br />

professional practice ladder program. Our benefi ts are comprehensive and include up<br />

to 100% in tuition and textbook reimbursement to further advance your degree. To<br />

review all currently available openings, visit www.valleyhealth.jobs. Apply online<br />

and be given immediate consideration for the opportunity to join our incredible team<br />

of Magnet nurses!<br />

MAGNET UPDATE<br />

Selected references<br />

Visit www.<strong>American</strong><strong>Nurse</strong><strong>Today</strong>.com/Archives.aspx for a list of selected<br />

references.<br />

Danielle H. Schloffman is a Magnet Program Director at University of Colorado<br />

Hospital in Aurora, Colorado. Jeanine M. Rundquist is a Magnet Program Director<br />

at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, Colorado. Kathleen A. Bradley is a<br />

Director of Performance, Practice and Innovation and Magnet Program Director at<br />

Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver, Colorado. Zachary D. Mueller is a Vice<br />

President of <strong>Nursing</strong> & Associate Chief <strong>Nursing</strong> Officer (CNO) at Medical City Dallas<br />

Hospital & Medical City Children’s Hospital in Dallas, Texas. Donna D. Poduska is a<br />

CNO at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado. Meredith C. Taylor is a<br />

Director of Professional Practice at North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley,<br />

Colorado. We would like to acknowledge newer members of the Colorado MPD<br />

Collaborative, including Barbara Ochsner, MSN, RN-BC; Lisa Shelton, MSN, RN,<br />

CRRN; and Jane Jostes-Wanek, MSN, RN-BC.<br />

Office of <strong>Nurse</strong> Recruitment<br />

Valley Health<br />

1840 Amherst Street<br />

Winchester, VA 22601<br />

EOE<br />

www.<strong>American</strong><strong>Nurse</strong><strong>Today</strong>.com March 2012 <strong>American</strong> <strong>Nurse</strong> <strong>Today</strong> 49


MAGNET UPDATE<br />

Winchester Medical Center<br />

1840 Amherst Street<br />

Winchester, VA 22601<br />

Sharyn Gaither<br />

Director of <strong>Nurse</strong> Recruitment<br />

sgaither@valleyhealthlink.com<br />

www.valleyhealth.jobs<br />

445 Beds<br />

These are exciting times at the Winchester<br />

Medical Center! We have nearly completed<br />

our unprecedented $160 million expansion<br />

project to allow us to better meet<br />

the needs of our growing community. In<br />

addition to being a Magnet Facility and<br />

a CVSICU BEACON Award Winner, Winchester<br />

Medical Center is also the only<br />

Level II Trauma Center, Nationally Certified<br />

Chest Pain Center with PCI, and<br />

Advanced Primary Stroke Center in the<br />

region. Our non-profit hospital serves<br />

as a quality comprehensive healthcare<br />

resource for the more than 400,000<br />

residents throughout Virginia’s northern<br />

Shenandoah Valley, neighboring West<br />

Virginia, and Maryland.<br />

VCU Health System<br />

1250 E. Marshall Street<br />

Richmond, VA 23298<br />

804-628-0918<br />

www.VCUHS.jobs<br />

Gale Rose • grose@mcvh-vcu.edu<br />

779 Beds<br />

Level 1 Trauma Center; over 200 Specialty areas, to include Hume-Lee Transplant<br />

Center, Stroke Center, Massey Cancer Center, Harold F. Young Neurosurgical<br />

Center, Evans-Haynes Burn Center, Pauley Heart Center and the Children’s<br />

Hospital of Richmond.<br />

VCU Medical Center is an internationally-recognized, Magnet-designated<br />

regional referral center on the forefront of health care, providing the most<br />

progressive treatments and medical technology available. Ranked among the<br />

top centers nationwide by U.S. News & World Report and one of only eight<br />

hospitals nationally with five or more unique AACN Beacon Award for<br />

<strong>Excellence</strong> recipients.<br />

MAGNET AD INDEX<br />

Carilion Clinic .................................................. 44<br />

Children’s National Medical Center .......... 44, 48<br />

Cleveland Clinic ........................................ 44, 45<br />

Mary Washington Healthcare .................... 42, 44<br />

Subscribe<br />

Ways!<br />

MedStar Franklin Square Medical<br />

Center .................................................... 44, 46<br />

UNC Health Care ....................................... 42, 44<br />

Valley Health Winchester Medical<br />

Center .................................................... 49, 50<br />

VCU Health System ................................... 45, 50<br />

For advertising information please contact: Tyra London,<br />

Associate Publisher, at 215-489-7000 x 117, or:<br />

tlondon@healthcommedia.com.<br />

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50 <strong>American</strong> <strong>Nurse</strong> <strong>Today</strong> Volume 7, Number 3 www.<strong>American</strong><strong>Nurse</strong><strong>Today</strong>.com

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