Kimberly Pendrey 30 Jan 07 8:19 PM MST The organization that I work for is a Magnet Recognized Hospital. The status was achieved shortly after I began working there in 2005. At the time I began, the organization had already been through the steps to achieving magnet status and were waiting on a response regarding our acceptance. Once it was achieved, there were big celebrations and creative methods of buy-in. One method of displaying our status was the use of ID badge holders stating "magnet excellence" that were given out to all staff members. A lunch celebration for all staff was also held, as well as the display of posters throughout the hospital. The fact that we are a magnet organization is also displayed on a large billboard close to the hospital. In addition, local television commercials have also been developed that recognize our excellence in nursing care and it includes the compassion we have for our patients and families. These methods display our pride and enthusiasm of the magnet status. The organizational structure of our magnet status is evident in all that we do. Everyone in the hospital came together to develop an organizational approach, which crosses all organizational levels and departments, to ensure our success (Bumgarner & Beard, 2003). All of the nurse managers, supervisors, directors, nurses, and physicians work together in teams to provide quality patient care. The decision making process of our organization includes nurses on the shared governance committees. The administrative structures of the organization support nurses decisions regarding patient care (Bolton & Bennett, 2002). The organization also provides educational programs, seminars, classes, in-services, and surveys for the staff that also allows for nurses to take part in decision making processes. Our organization supports professional nursing practice to the fullest extent with all that they do to keep nurses informed regarding organizational developments to the benefits of supporting continuing education for nurses. Opinions from the nurses regarding patient care are valued and sought from the nurse managers to the administrative directors. There is a climate of collegiality and mutual respect that exists in our hospital environments throughout all departments and all nurses. Our organization acts as a whole and the experiences I have encountered include a teamwork approach and someone is always there to lend a hand to assist in providing high quality patient care. Nurses working in magnet hospitals describe opportunities for professional development as indicators of professional practice environment (Robinson, 2002). The hospital I am employed at offers continuing education programs for nurses and it is widely encouraged. There are tuition reimbursement programs available and opportunities to engage in educational classes held in the organization as well. I have found support, advice, and encouragement from many of the nurse educators, clinical nurse specialists, nurse managers, and colleagues since becoming enrolled in this program. The hospital works hard to retain and recruit good nurses. Many benefits are rewarded such as an on-site discounted uniform shop, on-site employee pharmacy, discounts through local retailers, excellent medical, dental, and retirement benefits, and bonuses are given at Christmas,if expenses permit. Another added recognition to the hospitals cohesiveness is the development of programs to assist nurses in times of need or unfortunate circumstances. Any staff interested come together to raise money or provide things such as clothing or furniture, for examples. From my experiences of being a staff member of this organization, I have to say that the magnet status is evident in the organizatinal strucure and the nurses do work hard to provide excellence. I am proud to be part of this organization and proud to tell people that I am a staff member at University Hospital. References Bolton, L.B., and Bennett, C. (2002). The ANCC magnet recognition program and magnet hospitals. In D.J. Mason, J.K. Leavitt, and M.W. Chaffee (Eds), Policy and Politics in Nursing and Healthcare (4th ed.) (p.324-327). St. Louis, MO: Saunders/Elsevier. Bumgarner, S.D., and Beard, E.L., Jr. (2003). The magnet application: Pitfalls to avoid. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 33(11), 603-606. Robinson, C. (2002). Achieving excellence in nursing practice. In D.J. Mason, J.K. Leavitt, and M.W. Chaffee (Eds), Policy and Politics in Nursing and Healthcare (4th ed.) (p.328-332). St. Louis, MO: Saunders/Elsevier. Date Modified: 30 Jan 07 8:23 PM MST Mary Arnold 31 Jan 07 6:33 PM MST Kimberly; Sounds like a great place to work, very supportive. Have you ever worked any where else that was not a magnet facility? Mary Lynn, RN, BSN IL Kimberly Pendrey 31 Jan 07 8:22 PM MST To tell you the truth, I just took a prn position at a teaching hospital. It is a medical college and a hospital. They call it an academic medical center. I have only worked a few shifts there and they are not a magnet facility, but have applied for magnet status. From what I understand, they did not qualify last year because they did not have a shared governance committee. There is now one in place. It is a much different environment compared to what I am used to, but I have enjoyed it so far. Margaret Imbrock 31 Jan 07 7:18 PM MST Kimberly, You mentioned your shared governance model and the administrative support of nursing decisions, I have a question about your chief nursing officer. Is she a member of the executive team and does she report directly to the CEO (Steinbinder, 2005) or an intermediary? I have heard some talk about ANCC asking for CNOs to have doctorate degrees in nursing. Our CNO is a member of the executive team that reports to the CEO, but she does not have her doctoral degree. The camaraderie that your organization and nursing department practice is great. Reference: Steinbinder, A. (2005). The magnet process: One appraiser's perspective. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 29, (3), 268-274. Kimberly Pendrey 31 Jan 07 8:30 PM MST To be honest with you, I do not know the answer to this question. I will try and find out. What I can tell you is that there are staff nurses from each department that are on the shared governance committee who bring the information back to the department. They share advice, information, and concerns with us. We then provide feedback or share concerns with our department shared governance representative. Our department administrative director has a masters degree and he reports to the CEO as well as the vice CEO. He is a great director that supports the advice from the nurses in our department and takes time to develop strategies to help meet our needs as well as the departments. However, there have been times that we have not agreed with all of his decisions and he will take our opinions into consideration. He will explain the needs for the actions thoroughly or he will develop a strategy/plan to make the best of the situation. Betty Barrow 1 Feb 07 5:02 AM MST Hi Kimberly, In your shared governance model, is there any mechanism on the individual units for the staff of those units to make decisions about their own units? In our hospital each nursing unit has a "Unit Board" and it is there that decisions are made about how to implement certain protocols and policies, such as how we all are going to weigh patients (time of day, what is on the bed for bed weights, when and how the scales are zeroed, etc.) or how we are going to staff on holidays and how we will choose who will be flexed off if the patient census drops. Those kinds of things being agreed upon by the nurses and non-licensed staff together make for less hurt feelings and less blaming of others for not doing things correctly. We, too, have representatives to various hospital committees, such as the Clinical Practice committee that reviews and revises all clinical policies and works with the State Board of Nursing to make sure the Nurse Practice Act is being followed and is updated to reflect safe nursing practice. Thanks for your interesting posting. Betty Barrow Tennessee Tara Narby 2 Feb 07 5:27 PM MST Kimberly and Betty, Do either of your facilities have a nursing research department? My facility has this and I believe they are an innovative group that is involving bedside nursing in the improvement and advancement of evidenced based practice. They have grand rounds for nursing and bring in national speakers. I was bummed to find out that today Dr. Timothy Porter O'Grady came and presented but I wasn't invited to the event. The good part about this situation is that they have created an excitement in me that makes me feel proud to be a nurse and part of a team. However, I am not employed through the nursing department. I am employed through clinical research and oftentimes feel somewhat isolated from nursing but I am enjoying bringing the nursing perspective to my team of physicians, dieticians, and scientists. This is truly a time in which I have seen more integration of nursing more than ever and I feel that really is what magnet is about. Thank you both for sharing interesting information about your institutions. Tara Narby Kimberly Pendrey 2 Feb 07 7:47 PM MST Tara, The hospital that I am employed at and spoke of does some research, but does not have a research department. However, the position I took at the Medical College of Georgia prn has a tremendously large research department. It is actually a research institution. There is a great deal of research involving evidence based practice to performing research studies on the campus and hospital. Check out the web site at www.mcg.edu. I agree that the integration of nursing involving bedside care, research, and interdisciplinary collaboration are the foundations that bring out the excellence in nursing as far as magnet status goes. Thanks, Kim Kimberly Pendrey 2 Feb 07 8:07 PM MST There are not any unit boards, but there are staff meetings in our department where decisions are discussed and the staff is included. Suggestions and recommendations are taken from the staff. Our department also does something like pilot studies to implement changes and see how they work for a short period of time. The staff then provides input and the decision is made whether or not to make the change permanent. I think it is great that your hospital has unit boards in place to include staff in decision making. Date Modified: 2 Feb 07 8:15 PM MST