Betty Barrow   	 31 Jan 07    2:57 PM MST
	Personnel Policies and Programs
Magnetism Force 4 is Personnel Policies and Programs and is comprised of the organizations salaries, benefits, staffing models and how they support safe and healthy work environments. This may mean that different units are staffed in different ways depending on their physical layout, their client populations and the services provided. In a Magnet organization, the personnel policies are created with input from the direct care nurses. A Magnet organization understands that nurses talk with other nurses in the area and those nurses know what policies and benefits are offered elsewhere. A Magnet organization must be competitive in those areas in order to improve nurse recruitment and retention.
Another aspect of Force 4 is the opportunities offered by the organization for professional growth and the ability for nurses to advance in both the administrative and clinical tracks. Magnet organizations recognize the need to provide a method for direct care nurses to advance without leaving the bedside.
The final aspect of Force 4 is the support of the organization and its policies for nurses to practice in a professional manner, to have a balance in their work and life and to deliver high quality nursing care to patients and clients. (ANCC, 2007)
Vanderbilt University Medical Center is one of the most recent organizations to receive Magnet recognition. We were recognized in December 2006.
Competition for nurses in Nashville is very keen since one of the largest chains of hospitals (HCA) is headquartered in the city. HCA has nine hospitals within a 50 mile radius of Nashville. Other hospitals in the area include two Veterans Administration Hospitals, as well as St. Thomas and Baptist Hospitals. There are, also, several large and small long term care facilities, home health agencies, a free standing hospice as well as home hospice programs, schools and businesses who compete for registered nurses.
Vanderbilt made a commitment several years ago that they would always be in the top three when it came to nursing salaries and benefits. One personnel policies that sets Vanderbilt apart from the other hospitals is the educational benefit that is available not only to staff but to the staff members’ children. A staff member pursuing a nursing degree of any level receives 100% tuition reimbursement for up to 12 semester hours per year plus can take advantage of the University’s benefit of 70% tuition reimbursement for up to 9 semester hours per year. So a Vandy employee can take 21 hours per year and only pay for 30% of 9 of those hours. The dependent benefit is even more generous. After 5 years of full time employment a staff member’s child can go to any college and Vandy will pay up to 70% of Vandy’s tuition for that child’s tuition cost at either Vandy or another school. Since Vandy’s tuition is pretty high, 70% of Vandy’s tuition is often 100% of another school’s tuition.
Decisions about staffing models are made by the leadership of each nursing unit as long as they fall within budget constraints. There are critical care, step down and general care units, each with their own staffing model.
Vanderbilt has several opportunities available to help staff balance life and work. We have a valet service to take care of errands such as oil changes, dry cleaning, package wrapping, watch repair, etc., as well as a free health club and an employee assistance program. On most units, overtime is limited so people can have time to do something besides work.
Overall, Vanderbilt has met the Force 4 standards and continues to seek input from employees to try to improve. A biannual employee satisfaction survey is done in order to determine other issues that are important to the staff so further personnel policies and programs are sure to be offered in the future.

ANCC Magnet Recognition (2007). Forces of magnetism. Retrieved January 31, 2007, from American Nurses Credentialing Center web site: http://www.nursecredentialing.org/magnet/forces.html


Margaret Imbrock 	31 Jan 07    7:37 PM MST
	Betty,
Congratulations on your achievement of Magnet status. I would venture that was the greatest Christmas gift staff received this year. The personnel policies and benefits sound great. What is your vacancy rate with the "nursing shortage" and stiff competition from the other facilities? My organization achieved Magnet status in 2005. Fortunately for us, we have 4 schools of nursing supplying 2 organizations with new nurses and therefore are able to maintain a low vacancy rate. I do not know what will happen as the "baby boomers" begin retiring, we seem to be having 1-2/week lately.

Marge
Date Modified: 31 Jan 07    7:40 PM MST



Betty Barrow 	1 Feb 07    3:38 AM MST
	Hi Marge,
I do not know the overall vacancy rate at this time, but on our unit we have no RN vacancies at this time. That has not always been true. One of the things that has helped is that there has been more attention paid to the orientation and precepting process as well as the ever important management feedback to new nurses. The recruitment and retention effort has received special attention in the last few years. A new program has started where nursing students work on the areas of their choice as Nurse Externs during the summer between their last two years of school, they then do their preceptorship course during their last semester with an experienced nurse on that same unit. They are encouraged to apply for a position on that unit before they graduate with a tuition pay-back program. The idea is that when they start working as a graduate nurse, they will already be well familiar with the unit, our documentation system, and many of our nursing policies so orientation will take less time and be less stressful for those new nurses.
Thanks for the question.
Betty


Krista Winslow 	1 Feb 07    2:05 PM MST
	Betty,
Wow, I am jealous! Vanderbilt sounds like a great place to work. I work for Intermountain Health Care in Utah, and I even though it is very good, Vanderbilt sounds better. Intermountain has 4 hospitals in the Salt Lake City area that are magnet, but where I work is in the process. I worked at a Magnet hospital for 3 years and did find it very deserving of that title. There really is a big difference in quality when you compare magnet and non magnet hospitals. We have tuition reimbursement for employees, but not children of employees. Do you have a work commitment if you use the tuition reimbursement? Ours is at least 24 hours a week for 1 year, or you have to pay it back. The valet service is a great idea. I guess my hospital is pretty small and there isn't a huge need for it, but that would really increase employee satisfaction. One of our biggest complaints is the pay. I live in Southern Utah (close to Las Vegas) and the prices of houses are equivalent to Las Vegas and Southern California, but we don't make any more money than the rest of the state whose houses cost about 1/2 as much. So the big problem is people can't afford to live here and I think that is one reason we are short staffed and have a moderate turnover rate. Does your pay at Vanderbilt support your cost of living?


Betty Barrow 	2 Feb 07    8:01 AM MST
	Hi Krista,
It is a great place to work.
We are paid pretty well, especially since there is so much competition for nurses in this area.
There is no pay back for using either the employee or the dependent tuition benefit. You have to work at Vandy for 6 months to qualify for the employee benefits and you must have completed 5 years full time to qualify for the dependent benefit. It's a great retention tool for many of us. I have a friend whose son is very bright, went to an academic magnet school for high school. He's now in school as Washington University in St. Louis and between his academic scholarships, work study and Vandy tuition benefit, his schooling, room and board and books are covered. He'll graduate with no student loans. Shiela could not have afforded to help him that much as she's a single mom and has a younger son to consider as well.
Nashville is a large metropolitan area so there's lots of places to live around Nashville that are cheaper than living in Nashville.
All of those tuition benefits were in place long before we applied for Magnet status. I'd like to see Vandy offer more money for nurses to attend conferences and seminars and pay for certification tests. Perhaps in the future as Magnet organizations go through a re-certification process every 4 years.
How about moving to Nashville?
Betty