by Matt Batcheldor
The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) will bring a team of appraisers to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt Aug. 10-12 as part of the Magnet fourth designation process.
The purpose of the site visit is for the appraisers to confirm and validate the submitted information and culture of Children’s Hospital by listening to as many nursing and staff members as possible. It is the culmination of more than four years of comprehensive planning and preparation, including the creation of a lengthy, evidence-based Magnet document and education efforts for nurses throughout the hospital and pediatric clinics.
“This exciting accomplishment is a testament to the excellent nursing care and interprofessional collaboration provided at Children’s Hospital and its clinics each day,” said Ashley Ried, MMHC, RN, CPPS, Magnet senior program manager for Children’s Hospital.
A team of three appraisers will meet in person with nurses, physicians and ancillary staff representing the Children’s Hospital main campus, Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks, Murfreesboro Outpatient Surgery Center, and area clinics over the course of the three-day visit.
The ANCC’s Magnet designation is the highest honor an organization can receive for the provision of nursing care and interprofessional collaboration. Fewer than 10% have Magnet status, and no other hospital system in Middle Tennessee has achieved the designation. VUMC received its first Magnet designation in November 2006, its second in April 2012 and third in July 2017.
“Our Children’s Hospital has long been recognized as part of a Magnet-recognized organization,” said Executive Chief Nursing Officer Marilyn Dubree, MSN, RN, NE-BC. “It is because our nurses are dedicated to compassionate and competent care for our patients and families. We look forward to sharing the excellence of our Children’s Hospital with our Magnet appraisers.”
Each of the previous three Magnet journeys required one site visit for VUMC. However, starting with this designation process, separate site visits are required for Children’s Hospital, Vanderbilt Adult Ambulatory Clinics, Vanderbilt University Hospital and Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital.
ANCC appraisers previously conducted a Magnet site visit for the adult clinics in March.
A site visit is scheduled for Vanderbilt University Hospital from Aug. 16-19 and Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital from Aug. 22-24. Following the site visits, the Commission on Magnet Recognition is expected to announce the outcome of VUMC’s fourth Magnet designation for each entity.
Hosting the Children’s Hospital site visit is the result 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 thousands of pages if printed. The documents consist of examples from within 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 VUMC.
Kathie Krause MSN, RN, NNP-BC, NEA-BC, Children’s Hospital chief nursing officer, said that she is looking forward to this site visit. “Our entire faculty and staff work tirelessly to care for children and their families. We welcome the opportunity for the ANCC Magnet appraisers to witness this care first hand as we share our Magnet moments and the culture that identifies us as a Magnet organization.”
