A number of nursing faculty members including (left to right) Mickey Parsons, Ph.D., M.H.A., RN, FAAN; Andrea Berndt, Ph.D., M.S.; and Sara Gill, Ph.D., RN, IBCLC, worked with nurses at University Hospital System (UHS) during the “Magnet journey” led by UHS nursing administrators Evelyn Swenson-Britt, M.S., RN, and Nancy Ray, RN.
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University Health System (UHS), one of several hospital systems where faculty members from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio provide care, announced Feb. 17 that it is the first hospital in South Texas to achieve Magnet Recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

The five-year “Magnet journey” involved all UHS employees in a culture-changing experience that involved the expertise of community partners, including faculty members from the UT Health Science Center San Antonio.

“We could not have achieved this without the help of the nursing faculty at the UT Health Science Center,” said Evelyn Swenson-Britt, M.S., RN, clinical research director and director of the Magnet Project at UHS. “I really can’t thank the faculty enough for what they have done to help us reach this achievement.”

Related link: More about nursing faculty expertise in the Magnet Recognition process

With only 360 Magnet hospitals representing 6 percent of hospitals nationwide, the institutional designation is regarded as the “gold standard” in recognizing high-quality patient care. The recognition also acts as a “magnet” to attract nurses and other health care professionals to an employer where the leadership encourages input and innovation; supports scientifically proven best practices; and empowers employees to continually improve processes and practices to benefit patient care and provide a healthy working environment.

Magnet Recognition process transforms patient care
“We were happy to have shared the Magnet journey with our colleagues at UHS,” said Eileen T. Breslin, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, dean of the School of Nursing. “The criteria involved in the Magnet Recognition process transforms not only the future of the nursing profession, but health care as a whole, creating strong, interprofessional teams that collaborate to improve patient care and safety. As the primary caregivers of patients, nurses are uniquely suited to advocate for their patients, identify processes that can be improved and help establish best practices supported by scientific research.”

Faculty members contribute their expertise
When Swenson-Britt learned she would be leading the Magnet journey, she decided to enroll in the School of Nursing’s Ph.D. program to refresh her knowledge. As she progressed through the program, Swenson-Britt asked nursing faculty members to collaborate with UHS nurses regarding how to conduct research to improve patient care; change the culture to encourage input and shared leadership; and apply statistical analysis to document success. “The faculty members understand the theory and how to apply it, and our nurses provided a place where faculty members could work with them to conduct research,” she said. “This mentorship was very important.”

Faculty physicians support effort
UHS Chief Nursing Officer Nancy Ray, RN, said that the Health Science Center’s medical faculty, led by Nicolas Walsh, professor and chair of rehabilitation medicine and president of the medical-dental staff at UHS, also played a big part in the hospital system achieving Magnet recognition. “From the chairs of the departments to the attending physicians, there was a great spirit of collegiality to plan for great outcomes in patient care.”

Dr. Walsh noted that three additional faculty physicians made significant contributions to the Magnet journey. They include:

• John Myers, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Surgery;
  
• John Olson, M.D., Ph.D., professor and vice chair for clinical affairs in the Department of Pathology, director of clinical laboratories at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center of the UT Health Science Center San Antonio, and director of clinical laboratories at University Health System; and
  
• Ron Stewart, M.D., professor, interim chair of the Department of Surgery, division chief of Division of Trauma and Emergency Surgery and the Jocelyn and Joe Straus Endowed Chair in Trauma Research.

Swenson-Britt added that both UHS nurses and physicians ranked “staff satisfaction” high on Magnet evaluations. “Magnet considers this very important in creating a healthy work environment,” she said.

Healthier workplace
Ray added that the Magnet journey has already produced significant results. “We have reduced our nursing turnover rate from 20 percent to 11 percent. That is a huge outcome for us, especially because orientation and training costs for new employees can be very costly. When you can stabilize the workforce, employees feel invested and they are committed to staying here for the long run. Now we only have a 2 percent vacancy rate for staff nurses and a waiting list for many units,” she said.

Contributions of nursing faculty members
Nursing faculty members who made major contributions to the Magnet journey include:

• Carol Reineck, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, NEA-BC, associate professor and chair of the Department of Acute Nursing Care, used her Critical Reading of Research Publications-Plus Program to lead small nursing groups in learning how to review published nursing research, identify clinical problems that could be improved in their units and conduct scientifically based research to solve the problems.
  
  
• Mickey Parsons, Ph.D., M.H.A., RN, FAAN, professor of acute nursing care and coordinator of the Graduate Administration Program, used her Healthy Workplace Intervention to facilitate culture change in the patient services area and six nursing care units. This involved facilitating shared leadership, group problem solving, empowerment and shared responsibility. She and an outside colleague also facilitated leadership development workshops for department directors and more than 50 patient care coordinators.
  
  
• Carrie Jo Braden, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, professor of chronic nursing care and associate dean for research, taught UHS nurses how to apply for grants to support their research. Several nurses were successful in receiving funding for their research as a result of the course.
  
  
• Andrea Berndt, Ph.D., M.S., assistant professor and statistician in the Department of Chronic Nursing Care, played multiple roles that included serving as a research and statistics consultant to individual nurses and small nursing groups, developing a workshop for staff nurses and nurse educators, and acting as a dedicated statistical and analysis consultant for the entire Magnet project.
  
  
• Cathy Robichaux, Ph.D., RN, CCRN, CNS, assistant professor of acute nursing care, whose specialty is nursing ethics, is working with UHS nurses on a research project dealing with moral and ethical issues.
  
  
• Sara Gill, Ph.D., RN, IBCLC, associate professor of family nursing, is working with nurses in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Postpartum Unit and Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory to conduct clinical research projects.
  
  
• Cheryl Lehman, Ph.D., RN, CNS-BC, RN-BC, CCNR, associate professor in the departments of Acute Nursing Care and Rehabilitation Medicine, is helping nurses in the Reeves Rehabilitation Unit develop research to identify risks for falling.