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10 Lessons Learned from Multiple Magnet® Journeys

April 1st, 2021
April 1st, 2021

This blog post is an excerpt from an article by Gen Guanci, MEd, RN-BC, CCRN, Creative Health Care Management, in the Spring 2015 issue of PX Advisor, HealthStream's quarterly magazine devoted to the wide range of challenges, situations, and issues that have an impact on the patient experience. Subscribe to PX Advisor.

I have learned several lessons from my work with both national and international Magnet®-aspiring and Magnet®-designated organizations. Here are my top 10 lessons learned:

Lesson 1: Critically analyze your data, as this will help you determine your best journey timeline.

Lesson 2: It is never too early to involve the clinical nurses.

Lesson 3: Spend time before application to ensure that strong structures and processes have become part of your organizational culture and will support your journey.

Lesson 4: Offer shared governance support for leaders, as well as clinical nurses.

Lesson 5: Do not wait until site visit time to engage the entire organization.

Lesson 6: Gather pre-data before you implement ANY new change, process, structure, etc., so you will be able to meet ANCC’s requirement to quantify your improvements and show your empirical outcomes.

Lesson 7: Engage with an expert; someone who can guide and coach you to maximize your success.

Lesson 8: When developing your document, pick your BEST example to showcase your organization and be sure to showcase all settings where nurses work.

Lesson 9: Do not hesitate to pause on the journey if indeed you know you are not meeting the requirements.

Lesson 10: Celebrate all your journey milestones including application submission, document submission and site visits—not just designation notification.

We know that there are a lot of considerations along your journey. From transformational leadership to structural empowerment and much more, the requirements of Magnet certification are complex and require multiple forms of professional development and reporting. Whether it’s collecting the right data for certifications and education or increasing your penetration of certified nurses, it’s clear that there are many challenging tasks for those seeking or maintaining Magnet Designation.

At HealthStream, we believe that every patient deserves the best-developed workforce. This guidepost complements Magnet’s objective of recognizing healthcare organizations for quality patient care, nursing excellence, and innovations in professional nursing practice. From our Clinical Development and Talent Management solutions to our extensive reporting capability, HealthStream is committed to supporting our customers who are seeking or maintaining Magnet Recognition®

There is no one-size-fits-all solutions for achieving excellence. Our team of experts will help assess your challenges and develop a tailored solution that will lead to the outcomes you need. 

For a complete overview of HealthStream’s Magnet® readiness solutions, contact your HealthStream account executive today. 

MAGNET®, Magnet Recognition Program®, ANCC®, Magnet® and the Magnet Journey® are registered trademarks of the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The products and services of Creative Health Care Management are neither sponsored nor endorsed by ANCC.

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