From the Editor's Perspective...

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• Cindy Lewis, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC

Following on the heels of a successful and enjoyable National Conference, I find I am once again so awed and inspired by being part of such a wonderful group of dedicated and exceptional nurses. As a specialty organization and as individual nurses, we have so many numerous achievements to share and network. The Journal of Vascular Nursing serves as the avenue to share your clinical and best practice endeavors. Both the Editorial Board and myself are available to help mentor you through the process of disseminating your knowledge and expertise. Write me and let me know your ideas for future articles or issues you would like addressed. Recently, at our conference, many nurses discussed their professional involvement or future plans in preparing for Magnet status application. Such successes and process improvements should also be shared in this journal.

Now, upon returning to my work environment, I find I am becoming very involved in the process of preparing for our Magnet redesignation. Only a small percentage of hospitals in the United States have earned the prestigious Magnet designation. Presented by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), Magnet designation is considered the gold standard for quality in the nursing profession. In 2000, my institution was afforded the prestigious Magnet designation. We successfully were granted redesignation in 2005, and are once again preparing our written application for redesignation.

The Magnet program recognizes those health care facilities that foster an environment that attracts and retains competent nurses through its respect for the values, art, and science of nursing. Such facilities allow the nursing service to focus on the patient, resulting in positive outcomes that can be directly attributed to nursing care. The patient is the primary focus of the nursing service, and the outcomes of nursing care can be measured in terms of patient satisfaction in pain management, nursing care, and patient education and through measurable outcomes such as skin integrity and injury rates. According to the ANCC, independently sponsored research has shown that Magnet institutions consistently outperform non-Magnet institutions; deliver better patient outcomes; have shorter lengths of patient stay; have lower mortality rates, lower incidence of needle-stick injuries, increased nurse retention and recruitment rates, lower rates of nurse burnout, and higher rates of job satisfaction; and report higher patient satisfaction rates.¹

The roots of the current Magnet program can be traced back to a 1982 study by the American Academy of Nursing that focused on factors influencing the attraction and retention of professional nurses. As the American Nurses Association and the nursing profession began taking the lead in the early 1990s in determining how safe, high-quality care could be assured in an increasingly turbulent environment, it became clear that quality is an outcome of an environment supporting nursing excellence. Thus, the Magnet Nursing Services Recognition Program was developed.

The original Magnet research study identified 14 characteristics that differentiated organizations that were best able to recruit and retain nurses during the nursing shortages of the 1970s and 1980s.² These characteristics became the ANCC Forces of Magnetism that provide the conceptual framework for the Magnet appraisal process. Described as the heart of the Magnet Recognition Program, the Forces of Magnetism may be thought of as attributes or outcomes that exemplify excellence in nursing. The full expression of the current 14 Forces of Magnetism is the requirement for designation as a Magnet facility to truly demonstrate a professional environment guided by strong and visionary nursing leaders who advocate and support excellence in nursing practice. The 14 Forces of Magnetism are:

The most wonderful effect of Magnet status is the sense of pride for nurses, not only in the collective organization, but also personal pride and recognition. Nursing is a demanding profession. The Magnet status demonstrates that there is value to Nursing as a profession and recognizes nursing's high level of expertise. It recognizes that individual excellence working as a team is required to obtain the designation. Being a Magnet facility is an indication that the culture and environment of the organization allows for the participation of nurses for analysis of data and problem solving. The designation inherently recognizes the practices of an organization's shared governance that embodies collaborative, positive, and supportive partnerships with various customers and disciplines. Magnet status is about creating environments that can build retention and attraction to the field of nursing. As more and more of us obtain Magnet status, we will hopefully recruit and retain many more new nurses to our profession.

So, as I am entrenched in drafting examples of my departmental and organizational performance improvement activities, initiatives, and evidence-based practice guidelines, I can't help but wonder what wonderful initiatives and best practice scenarios many of you have implemented and demonstrated in your work environments and professional endeavors. Please share with us your successes, patient stories, and clinical, educational, and research guidelines. Let the Journal of Vascular Nursing be the avenue to foster excellence in the nursing care of our vascular patients. I look forward to hearing from you!

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References 

1. American Nurses Credentialing Center. Magnet program. http://nursingworld.org/ancc/magnet.html. Accessed June 17, 2008.
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2. Aiken LH. Superior outcomes for magnet hospitals: the evidence base. In:  McClure ML,  Hinshaw AS editor. Magnet Hospitals Revisited: Attraction and Retention of Professional Nurses. Washington, DC: American Nurses Publishing; 2002;p. 61–81
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