Recognizing Nursing Excellence - American Nurse Today

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MAGNET UPDATE Experience first-hand the difference Magnet Designation ® makes Nurses at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland are proud to deliver excellence in patient care worthy of the nation’s most prestigious honor - Magnet Recognition ® . We thrive in a shared decisionmaking environment where our voice is heard at every level of the organization. We forge strong interdisciplinary partnerships to meet the unique needs of each patient entrusted to our care. Join us and experience first-hand our commitment to excellence and the difference YOU can make at MedStar Franklin Square. Champion meetings focused on celebrating the commitment to high-quality nursing care and helping champions spread their enthusiasm across their units. Monthly meetings gave champions opportunities to share with others the ideas that worked on their units, as well as to create props (chocolate kisses, magnets for lockers, lapel pins, flash cards, Jeopardy games, and bulletin boards) to help them celebrate Magnet redesignation throughout the organization. Magnet champion strategies varied from unit to unit but shared a common theme. Champions were responsible for developing and finding creative ways to share the theme for our Magnet journey. A schematic depiction of the Journey to Magnet Excellence was turned into a jigsaw puzzle in a family waiting room to share our journey with our community. In October 2011, champions decorated pumpkins for their units that served as icebreakers for Magnet discussions where nurses shared their stories. Stories were collected for bulletin boards, photo albums, scrapbooks, and posters. “Magnet Moments” became part of our shift-change huddles. Our champions focused on practicing gratitude, being creative, and remembering to find joy in the journey. To avoid “Magnet fatigue,” overstimulation, and message overload, our champions shared information in succinct communications. They alternated communication methods, including e-mails, bulletin boards, scrapbook updates, and face-to-face conversations. During a particularly busy month, they took a formal communication “break.” One champion described our Magnet journey as a progressive dinner that would take time, rather than a Thanksgiving feast we would prepare and eat all at once. (See Evaluating Magnet redesignation preparation.) Cost-effective and successful We spent about $10,000 less preparing for our Magnet redesignation site visit than we did for our initial Magnet designation site visit. The real measure of our success came on July 21, 2011, when we found out we’d achieved Magnet redesignation. The true value in our redesignation is knowing that our organizational commitment to excellence remains a priority despite healthcare complexities, the economic downturn, and competing priorities. A passion for excellence is our “true north”—and Magnet is the compass that guides our journey. ■ 443-777-7045 phone medstarfranklin.org/nursing The authors work at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, Virginia. Carolyn Ramwell is a clinical nurse in the free-standing emergency department and a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Phoenix. Jean Blankenship is the Magnet coordinator. Mary Wolfe is a clinical nurse IV and shift coordinator in the free-standing emergency department. 46 American Nurse Today Volume 7, Number 3 www.AmericanNurseToday.com
Breaking competitive barriers: The Colorado Magnet ® Collaborative Through a regional collaborative, Magnet Program Directors achieve more together than any one director could achieve alone. MAGNET UPDATE By Danielle H. Schloffman, MSN, RN, NE-BC; Jeanine M. Rundquist, MSN, RN, CRRN; Kathleen A. Bradley, DNPc, RN, NEA-BC; Zachary D. Mueller, DNP, RN, NEA-BC; Donna D. Poduska, MS, RN, NE-BC, NEA-BC; and Meredith C. Taylor, BSN, RN, OCN Magnet ® organizations have been shown to deliver exceptional patient care and outcomes and to demonstrate a culture of patient safety and collaborative work environments. Each individual Magnet organization is strong, but a group of Magnet organizations working together as a collaborative can have an even greater influence on the work environment and patient experience. The Colorado Magnet Program Director (MPD) Collaborative consists of eight diverse Magnet organizations, including an acute rehabilitation hospital, a pediatric hospital, an academic medical center, and five community-based hospitals. Magnet organizations are expected to mentor other organizations. Through this collaborative, we share best practices with peer Magnet and non-Magnet organizations, nurture professional nursing in our state, and improve healthcare outcomes for our communities. Collaborative benefits Partnering as a group of exceptional healthcare organizations brings benefits—yet it can pose challenges. Most of the organizations in our collaborative are part of their own separate health systems, meaning they compete with each other. Nonetheless, we’ve been able to put competitiveness aside and break down the barriers between us. The Magnet Recognition Program ® gives member organizations a shared purpose that serves as the platform to build relationships among the MPDs in each program. Formalizing our relationship into a collaborative partnership brings even greater achievements. The MPD role can be lonely; other professionals in the organization may have difficulty understanding the demands and complexities of the MPD role. The collaborative allows MPDs to connect with peers who can provide emotional support, consultation, and advice. Equally crucial, it allows MPDs to share innovations that enhance their own organizations and patient care. Other benefits of the collaborative include helping each other interpret Magnet standards and expectations and helping each other prepare for document submission, Magnet appraiser site visits, and post-appraisal debriefings. We accomplish these goals by meeting quarterly, alternating sites. Joint events To meet Magnet expectations, each member organization in the collaborative already was mentoring aspiring Magnet organizations at the local, state, and national levels. In August 2010, we held a joint event to mentor other Colorado organizations; invitations had been e-mailed to all chief nursing officers (CNOs) and MPDs in the state. The agenda included assessing readiness for the Magnet journey, the MPD’s role, Magnet document preparation, and challenges and barriers. More than 50 professionals representing 26 organizations attended. Evaluations were positive. Here’s a sampling: “Most useful program for Magnet journey to date” and “I enjoyed the collaboration of the various (Magnet) hospitals.” This feedback motivated us to continue the tradition. We used comments from these evaluations to build the agenda for our next event in August 2011. We expanded the joint session to encompass a full 8-hour day. Again, all Colorado CNOs and MPDs were invited. Registrants came from 27 organizations; more than 100 people attended. Some organizations brought their entire leadership team, including several interdisciplinary team members. Based on feedback from our first event, we added a review of the Magnet Model Components, along with other topics, such as keys to staff engagement and preparing staff for the site visit. Also, we provided a CNO panel, which gave attendees insight into the CNO’s perspective of the Magnet journey and offered a question-answer forum. Like the first event, this one offered continuing-education credit hours. www.AmericanNurseToday.com March 2012 American Nurse Today 47
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