by Matt Batcheldor
The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) will bring a team of appraisers to Vanderbilt Adult Ambulatory Clinics from March 28-30 as part of the Magnet Fourth Designation process.
The site visit has been designed by the ANCC to determine the Medical Center’s culture by listening to as many nursing and Medical Center staff members as possible. Appraisers are coordinating with nursing leaders to develop a schedule to visit VUMC’s adult clinics during the three-day visit. Nurses will have multiple opportunities to talk to appraisers, both in their areas and in other settings.
The ANCC’s Magnet designation is the highest honor an organization can receive for the provision of nursing care and interprofessional collaboration. Only about 6 to 7% of hospitals or clinics have the distinction, and no other hospital system in Middle Tennessee has achieved Magnet designation.
Magnet Recognition is typically earned for a four-year period, and the ANCC conducts annual reviews requesting updated documentation. VUMC received its first Magnet designation in November 2006, its second in April 2012 and third in July 2017.
“Vanderbilt has long been recognized as a Magnet-designated institution,” said Executive Chief Nursing Officer Marilyn Dubree, MSN, RN, NE-BC. “We believe this site visit will further confirm the excellent nursing care for patients and families that is found every day in our clinics.”
Each of the previous three Magnet journeys required one site visit for VUMC. However, starting this year, separate site visits will be conducted for each of the four nursing entities — Vanderbilt Adult Ambulatory Clinics, Vanderbilt University Hospital, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital. The dates for the other site visits will be announced later.
Hosting the site visit is the culmination of years of work by nursing staff in the journey toward a fourth designation. In August 2021, VUMC electronically submitted four Magnet documents, one for each entity, which would total hundreds of pages if printed. The documents consist of examples from across the entities in response to questions, as well as demographic information including quality data and patient and staff satisfaction. In previous Magnet journeys, only one Magnet document was required for all of VUMC.
“The Adult Ambulatory Clinics document showcases exemplary professional nursing practice across the entity,” said Ambulatory Magnet Senior Program Manager Kimberly Burkeen, MSN, RN, NE-BC. “The crafted stories spotlight interdisciplinary teamwork and commitment to excellence that leads to improved outcomes and enculturation of the Magnet principles.”
Following the four site visits, the Commission on Magnet Recognition is expected to announce the outcome of VUMC’s fourth Magnet designation for each of the entities before the end of the year.
“On behalf of the Vanderbilt Adult Ambulatory Clinics, I am proud and honored to host our Magnet appraisers,” said Michele Hasselblad, DNP, RN, NE-BC, vice president of Adult Ambulatory Nursing. “Our document presents only a fraction of the accomplishments of our nursing staff, both individually and as integral partners in our interprofessional teams. We are eager to share more with our appraisers about our stories and the culture that makes VUMC so special for our teams, our patients and their families.”