January 25, 2008

Preparing for the Magnet
re-designation site visit

The MGH community is gearing up for the 2008 Magnet Recognition site visit scheduled to take place Feb. 20 through 22. The visit follows the MGH's submission of an evidence document illustrating how the hospital meets the standards of practice and professional performance, also known as the 14 Forces of Magnetism, to the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to become re-designated as a Magnet hospital. Designation is an honor developed by the ANCC to recognize health care organizations for nursing excellence.

When the MGH first received Magnet Recognition status in 2003, it became the first hospital in Massachusetts to achieve this prestigious distinction. Currently, approximately 5 percent of health care organizations in the United States have earned Magnet Recognition.

During the site visit, four Magnet appraisers and one appraiser fellow will observe how nursing is practiced at the hospital and will evaluate whether the MGH should be re-designated. Appraisers may speak with any member of the MGH community and will plan to meet with members of an interdisciplinary clinical team to learn how clinical care is delivered and supported. They also may request to speak with patients, families and visitors. All MGH employees should have a basic understanding of the Magnet Recognition process and should be able to describe how their department works in collaboration with nursing.

MGH staff and employees will have the opportunity to interact with the appraisers in a number of forums scheduled throughout the site visit. Several activities to help employees prepare for the visit will take place in February. These include the following:

Nursing Grand Rounds will be held Feb. 7, from 1:30 to 2:30 pm in the O'Keeffe Auditorium. This session will provide staff with key information about the Magnet program, the re-designation process and the Forces of Magnetism.

Magnet information tables will be set up in the Main Corridor Feb. 7 and 19 from 10 am to 8 pm. Staff, patients, families and visitors will have an opportunity to speak to MGH staff about Magnet designation and obtain brochures and other tools to learn more about the process.

Magnet evidence is now on display in the Blum Patient and Family Learning Center located in the White Building, Room 110, Monday through Friday, from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm, as well as all day in the Clinical Nursing Supervisors Office in the Bigelow Building, Room 1406. It is also available online on the MGH Magnet webpage at www.massgeneral.org/pcs/Magnet/Magnet.asp.

For more information or to review resources describing the MGH Magnet re-designation effort, access the webpage or contact Suzanne Cassidy, senior project specialist, at (617) 726-0368.