June 6, 2003

Preparations finalized for Magnet site visit

After months of preparation throughout the hospital, MGHers are counting down the days for the Magnet recognition site visit to take place June 10 to 12. Appraisers from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association, will conduct a three-day site visit to see first-hand why the hospital should be awarded the ANCC's highest nursing honor: Magnet hospital recognition.

Hospitals are designated to have "Magnet" status because they demonstrate the qualities and abilities required to recruit and retain nurses. Only 1 percent of hospitals in the United States have Magnet status — a total of 69 institutions. To date, there are no Magnet hospitals in Massachusetts.

During their visit to the MGH, appraisers will attend collaborative governance meetings to get a flavor for the communication and decision-making structure of MGH Patient Care Services (PCS). Collaborative governance positions clinicians to participate in key decisions that affect their practice and the quality of their work life. The appraisers also will attend meetings of the Clinical Performance Management (CPM) teams, the multidisciplinary performance improvement teams that identify ways to enhance clinical practice throughout the hospital. In addition, the appraisers will meet with staff nurses in several forums to learn about what attracted them to the MGH and why they stay.

During their visit, appraisers will meet with senior hospital leaders, members of the Board of Trustees, nurses, physicians, and community leaders to hear different perspectives about nursing practices at the MGH. Patient care units will be a major focus of the site visit. Visits to the units will last approximately 20 minutes and will involve all members of the health care team, including patients.

Appraisers will be seeking information about a unit's strategies on patient care activities such as providing continuity of care, staffing decisions, care planning, orientation, and professional development and interdisciplinary teamwork. The appraisers also may take the opportunity to speak with any member of the MGH community to ask about how his or her department works in collaboration with nursing.

For more information about the site visit, MGHers can visit the Magnet information tables June 6 and 9, from 7 am to 7 pm in the Main Corridor and 11 am to 2 pm inside of the Eat Street Café entrance.