Congress Abstracts 2006

76

CONGRUENT VALUES, SHARED GOALS: THE MAGNET RECOGNITION PROGRAM (MRP) AND ONCOLOGY NURSING. Jane Shivnan, RN, MScN, AOCN^®, the Institute for Johns Hopkins Nursing, Baltimore, MD.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program (MRP) measures the quality of nursing practice and organization against standards derived from a growing body of nursing research. The process of applying for Magnet Recognition affirms the values held by oncology nurses and offers an opportunity to reflect on our strengths and successes.

The MRP provides a dynamic, context-sensitive framework of evidence-based standards that validates excellence in nursing organization and practice. It can be used as a conceptual model to guide positive changes in unit organization, management structure, and nursing practice.

Working toward Magnet Recognition includes assessing and analyzing nursing practice and the workplace environment, gathering exemplars and writing a narrative, and preparing the institution for a site visit. The role of the Magnet Project Coordinator (MPC) at this academic medical center also encompassed interpreting the standards and forces of magnetism for leadership and staff, and supporting strategic planning activities using those principles. As an oncology nurse, the MPC was uniquely prepared for this role. The needs of our patients for holistic care along a continuum that includes ambulatory, acute, critical and palliative care fosters our professional growth as expert nurses with evidence-based practice. The special nature of survivorship and the need for preventive programs pushes us to look outward to our communities. Our specialized practice supports nursing autonomy within a collegial interdisciplinary framework. These concepts, familiar to us as oncology nurses, are well described in the MRP as essential to excellent nursing practice and quality patient outcomes. Working with leadership and staff across the institution, the MPC has a rare opportunity to describe, expand, and codify these concepts.

Commitment to the principles of the MRP is an ongoing journey requiring a clear understanding of its evidence-based standards. Success can be measured by outcomes such as nurse and patient satisfaction, and by trending and benchmarking nurse-sensitive quality indicators.

Evidence-based standards such as those described by the MRP can be used to guide and implement changes in nursing practice and organization whether or not an institution is pursuing Magnet. Their congruence with oncology nursing practice gives them special value to our nurses and patients.