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At 9:30 p.m. May 30, 2000—the night of her birthday—Donna
Poduska, MS, RN, received a call from her boss at Poudre
Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colo. Margo Karsten,
MSN, RN, chief nursing officer, told Poduska she had
just heard from the national Magnet Recognition Program
for Excellence in Nursing Services: Poudre Valley would
become the 18th health care organization in the country
to receive a Magnet designation.
Unable to sleep, Poduska and Karsten dashed to the
hospital, picking up vanilla ice cream and root beer
on the way. They announced the award amid cheers and
handed out root beer floats. Larger and more formal
celebrations would follow, but Poduska vividly recalls
the exhilaration of that night, when nurses, physicians,
support staff and even patients celebrated Poudre Valley’s
admission to a select group of hospitals recognized
for their commitment to nursing.
For Poduska, director of resource services for Poudre
Valley, the award was a crowning achievement in her
career, coming after an 18-month application process
that included extensive documentation and a site appraisal.
“It was the best birthday present I think I’ve
ever got,” she said.
Since 1994, the Magnet Recognition Program, run by
the American Nurses Credentialing Center, has recognized
health care organizations “that provide the very
best in nursing care and uphold the tradition within
nursing that supports professional practice,”
according to the center.
In Magnet hospitals, nurses participate in decision-making.
Nurses are considered peers with physicians. Nurses
have time to spend educating and caring for their patients.
Nurses are encouraged to think.
“You have from the very top of the hierarchy
identified nursing as a valued priority for that hospital,”
said Julie Sochalski, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, associate professor
at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing,
research faculty member at the Center for Health Outcomes
and Policy Research, and co-investigator on a number
of studies on improved patient outcomes in Magnet hospitals.
“You establish a culture that says nursing is
a real asset.”
As a result, nurses, physicians, administrators and
a growing number of patients consider Magnet hospitals
the cream of the crop for patient care and for nursing
as a profession. As of mid-September, more than 50 health
care organizations have received Magnet designation,
and more are in the process of applying.
Until the advent of the nursing shortage, a Magnet
award usually meant a boost to staff morale and well-deserved
accolades for hospitals that provided a professional
environment for nurses. But in the last few years, as
the program has become better known and the nursing
shortage has worsened, hospitals have started to view
the award as a potential marketing and recruitment tool.
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