As the countdown to the Magnet Recognition site visit approaches, the Reporter's Kathy Rivers is asking Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurses to answer key questions in their own words.
Question: What last-minute preparations are your unit/department making to prepare for the upcoming Magnet site visit?
Answer: We are preparing by having weekly gatherings to go over a list of anticipated questions. Our break room is covered with bulletin boards displaying things we are doing throughout the clinic — some cover continuing education, some illustrate community outreach activities and others are just fun things about clinic members. I think after a lot of planning and thought, we are coming together as a group centered on the goal of being the best site the Magnet appraisers visit. Education is something we are very proud of and we work very hard at. It's obvious when someone comes into our clinic that we really do shine in this area.
— Georgette Smiley, R.N., Otolaryngology Practice