Texas Children’s inches closer towards achieving its fourth Magnet® re-designation, which is considered the gold standard for nursing excellence. From Tuesday, February 21 to Friday, February 24, 2023, four Magnet appraisers will conduct a virtual site visit at Texas Children’s, which is one of the many required steps to obtain Magnet re-designation.
For 20 years, Texas Children’s has been a Magnet-designated organization. Every four years, the hospital applies for Magnet re-designation, which is the highest and most prestigious recognition provided by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and reflects Texas Children’s commitment to providing quality patient care. Only 9% of U.S. hospitals are Magnet-designated, putting Texas Children’s in the company of the best hospitals in the nation.
“This step marks a huge milestone in our journey towards Magnet re-designation,” said Chief Nursing Officer Jackie Ward. “The virtual site visit will provide our appraiser team with the opportunity to validate the exemplars referenced in our written documentation and witness how our nurses make a difference through world-renowned, life-changing care.”
Reaching this milestone was no easy task. For the past few years, Nursing leaders have been meeting to review various Magnet-related performance metrics to ensure ongoing readiness. More than a year was spent selecting, drafting, reviewing and editing exemplars to highlight in the submission.
Nursing Shared Governance Council members identified the theme, Relay to Re-designation, for this journey – which aptly captures the various checkpoints, teamwork and collaboration required for success. Additionally, the preparation for the site visit has required great collaboration with many Nursing partners – such as Quality, Human Resources, Information Services, Patient and Family Services, Marketing and others.
Following the virtual site visit in February, the Magnet appraisers will submit a report to the Commission on Magnet, which makes the final decisions regarding Texas Children’s Magnet re-designation.
“We are very confident that our organization will receive Magnet re-designation this year,” said Ward. “It is often said, ‘they have read our book and now they want to see our movie.’ I am so proud of the combined efforts of our entire nursing team who have worked so hard to make this collaborative achievement possible.”
Texas Children’s staff have an opportunity to submit comments to the Magnet Program Office prior to the site visit, click here for the Magnet Staff Notice. To learn more about the ANCC’s Magnet Recognition Program®, click here.