Laura Ballance   	 18 Jan 07    5:49 AM MST
	Professional Development

Unfortunately this author has not had the privilege of working in a healthcare facility that is recognized as a Magnet Program (ANCC). The two facilities in the area that are ANCC recognized are Baptist Medical Center and Shands Hospital of Gainesville, Florida.

I would like to comment though on two healthcare facilities that I worked in and firmly believe that they are capable of achieving ANCC Magnet Status.

While working at an HCA/Columbia facility in Nashville, TN and Brooks Rehab in Jacksonville, FL, both organizations provided an environment for professional development as stated in number 14 of the Magnet Profiles. Professional development number 14 of the Forces of Magnetism is important for all that work in any health care environment as health care technology continues to ever evolve.

Columbia/HCA played a significant role in providing support both financially and professionally in this writer's development as a professional nurse. When offered the position of assistant nurse manager for the Adult Psychiatric Unit, it was eagerly accepted. With tuition reimbursement the organization contributed to my earning my BSN through formal education.

Also, the organization provided many continuing education opportunities in-house. When any new medications or products were introduced, extensive education was provided. Encouragement and a salary increase was provided for those individuals that took an ANCC examination and passed. We were also encouraged to maintain it.

Another force for professional development that was utilized was encouraging those individuals that had a special skill to offer classes on them. While we had several classes from employee provided topics, one sticks out the most and was very successful. A social worker offered sign language classes. When the class was completed after nine weeks, we all received a recognition sign language pin. It was the universal sign language pin for love.

If I was still employed in this facility, I would encourage them to apply for Magnet Status and capitalize on the professional development in-house classes provided to its employees by its employees for Magnet Status recognition.

Laura Ballance. RNC, BSN
Leadership/Mgmt
Florida

Reference:

American Nurses Credentialing Center www.nursingworld.org Retrieved 1/30/07
Date Modified: 3 Feb 07    9:05 AM MST



Krista Winslow 	30 Jan 07    9:30 PM MST
	Laura,
That is great that your previous organizations helped you earn your BSN and supported continuing education. While my organization provides tuition reimbursement and encourages continuing education, there are no pay differentials for certifications or even a BSN. My organization is part of a large corporation called Intermountain Healthcare that has many hospitals in Utah. There are 4 hospitals in the Salt Lake City area that have magnet status, but the rest of the hospitals (including the one I work at) are not (although many are working on it). I feel a big difference in quality between the magnet hospital that I worked at before and the hospital I work at now. Do you feel the same way about your current organization and the previous ones you think should apply for magnet status?


Laura Ballance 	31 Jan 07    6:24 PM MST
	Krista,

While I enjoy teaching Practical Nursing Students, I regret that I do not feel the same way about the organization. There is much catching up to the ideals of the 14 Forces of Magnetism that needs to be done. As we start our RN program and our Respiratory Therapy program, we may see a gradual change to the 14 forces.

Not only do these 14 forces apply to hospitals, they also apply to educational facilites, Where better to learn these qualities that are present than in an educational environment. Once employed, these qualities will not be new to them.

Thanks for reading.
Laura Ballance
Florida


Amy Fanning 	1 Feb 07    4:25 PM MST
	Laura,

Sounds like you have been employed with some great facilities. I love the example about learning sign language from your social worker. That is something I have always wanted to accomplish. Was there any fee for this class or did they reimburse the social worker? Just wondered how they worked out those details.

Regarding the hospital you worked for that assisted you with your BSN degree, did they require you to work for them for a number of years after paying for your education? The agency that I currently work for requires that you sign a contract and work for them for a certain number of years depending on the amount they pay toward your education. I have not utilitzed this program since I do not want to be tied down to the agency.

Amy Fanning


Laura Ballance 	2 Feb 07    7:55 AM MST
	Amy,

Fortunately I have but I still had to take some of the negative with the positive. Luckily, the postive outweighs the negative ten-fold. The sign language class, as well as all others, were on a volunteer basis. We did not have to pay for anything. The hospital provided supplies to the instructor for the students.

Yes, I did have to commit to 1 year of service, but this was not an issue for me as the company was a very pleasant place to work. When my husband transferred I had worked there so long that they forgave the time constraints and I did not have to pay it back.

I believe a lot of places call this "loan forgiveness". Being satisfied with, as well as trusting, the institution that you work in is a big factor in whether you want to be "tied down" to it or not.

Thank you.
Laura Ballance
Florida


Tara Narby 	2 Feb 07    5:35 PM MST
	Laura,
Have you seen that finances may be a contributing factor for reluctance to apply for magnet? I was just thinking that maybe smaller community institutions may not be able to afford the credentialing fees. I also agree with the others. You have experienced magnet principles in your work environments. That really shows a positive support of nurses.
Thanks for an interesting post.
Tara Narby


Laura Ballance 	3 Feb 07    8:53 AM MST
	Tara,

Good question. Finances could play a huge role. And I think that HCA/Columbia is always under scrutiny from the government since they had so much trouble years ago and had to pay huge fines.

Thanks.
Laura
Date Modified: 3 Feb 07    9:05 AM MST



Laura Ballance 	3 Feb 07    9:04 AM MST
	Review and Reflect

In reading colleagues responses, one of them mentioned cost factor. Cost factor could play a huge part in not applying for magnet status as the one mentioned with in-house services by the employees for the employees faced serious medicare reimbursement fraud charges while I was under their employment.

Many changes occurred at the corporate level. What did not change was the way the staff were educated and supported by #14 (Professional Development) of the Forces for Magnetism. If anything, the media coverage brought about a cohesiveness among the employees and we were all trained on how to deal with the charges that the facility was faced with.

While I'm sure that there are some, and maybe many things, that we were never told, our functioning as a care giver was top priority for this company.

While I am aware that the Magnet Forces for Credentialing focuses on medical centers or hospitals, I would like to see a sub-group credentialing for nursing schools, or nursing departments.

Laura Ballance
Florida

American Nurses Credentialing Center www.nursingworld.org Retrieved 1/30/07
Date Modified: 3 Feb 07    9:37 AM MST