Credentialing International Cosponsors Conference in Iceland

	Attendees at the conference in Rykjavik, Iceland, on August 14, 2003, cosponsored by Credentialing International, include (top row, l. to r) Sigurdur Gudmundsson, MD, PhD, Medical Director General, Sigrun Gunnarsdottir, RN, MS, LUH, Anna Lilja Gunnarsdottir, PhD, CFO, LUH, Sigurdur Olafsson, MD, LUH, Martin McKee, MD, Guest Speaker, Johannes Gunnarsson, MD, Chief Medical Officer, LUH, Fridbjorn Sigurdsson, MD, LUH, Kristinn Tomasson, MD, PhD, Occupational Safety Administration, Hrafn Oli Sigurdsson, RN, PhD, LUH, and (front row, l. to r.) Andrew Woodhead, CEO, Guest Speaker, Anne-Marie Rafferty, RN, PhD, Guest Speaker, Ragnheidur Haraldsdottir, Department Head, Ministry of Health and Social Security, Lilja Stefansdottir,RN, MHA, assistant Chief Nurse Officer, LUH, Christine Mueller, RN, PhD, Guest Speaker, Anna Stefansdottir, RN, MS, Chief Nursing Officer, LUH.

Credentialing International cosponsored a conference day in Rykjavik, Iceland, August 14, 2003, hosted by Landspitali University Hospital. Thought provoking presentations and panel discussions at the conference, titled "Hospitals in a Changing Environment," were well received by the 150 registered attendees.

Iceland's Minister of Health and Social Security, the Honorable Jon Kristjansson, in opening the conference, said he expected good discussions and new ideas to arise out of the knowledge that was being brought together from both sides of the Atlantic. Dr. Martin McKee, professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and chair of the European Observatory on Health Care Systems, discussed the rapidly changing environment in which hospitals exist and emphasized the need for close partnership between hospitals and primary care. Mr. Andrew Woodhead, CEO of The Royal National Orthopedic Hospital, spoke about his recent experience as a project manager of a major redesign of specialty services and consolidation of three sites into one in West London. He also addressed the balance between small and large specialty units. Dr. Anne-Marie Rafferty, professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and chair of the Centre for Policy in Nursing Research, presented her research demonstrating better patient outcomes in an environment of teamwork and nurse autonomy. Dr. Christine Mueller of the University of Minnesota represented ANCC and explained the Magnet Recognition Program^®.

The afternoon session focused on the future of the Landspitali University Hospital as visioned by Sigurdur Olafsson, MD, attending gastroenterologist, Lilja Stefansdottir, RN, associate CNE, and Ari Edwald, Managing Director of the Employers Association. Three recent studies surveying employee attitudes and experiences of their work environment were presented by Kristinn Tomasson, MD, Sigrun Gunnarsdottir, RN, and Sigurdur Gudmundsson, MD, Medical Director General. A final presentation was made by Ragnheidur Harladsdottir, Department Head, Ministry of Health and Social Security, who reported on future building projects for the University Hospital.

The conference and panel discussions were moderated by Fridbjorn Sigurdsson, MD, and Anna Lilja Gunnarsdottir, CFO. Hrafn Oli Sigurdsson, RN, and Sigrun Gunnarsdottir, RN, served as the conference planning committee.

Eastern European Hospitals Pursue Magnet Status

Russian and Armenian hospitals to get help from U.S. partners.

By Julie Goldsmith

Svetlana Antonova, chief nurse of Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow, celebrates the introduction of the Magnet hospital pilot program at her facility.

Four top hospitals in the former Soviet Union have signed commitments to participate in a project in which they will try to meet the standards of the Magnet Nursing Services Recognition Program of the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a basis for improving nursing care. To help them accomplish this, four U.S. Magnet hospitals (Aurora Health System in Wisconsin, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Jersey, North Carolina Baptist Hospital of North Carolina, and the North Shore University Hospital of New York) have formed partnerships with the Eastern European facilities.

The facilities are Moscow's 1,400-bed Central Clinical Hospital and 10 clinical buildings, and Sokolov Medical Center, a 450-bed facility in St. Petersburg. Sokolov was initially created for workers in the Soviet nuclear industry and underwent modernization when it became the primary hospital for the Good Will Games in 1994.

The other two facilities are in Yerevan, Armenia. Emergency Scientific Medical Center is a 450-bed public teaching hospital. The 450-bed private Erebouni Medical Center is affiliated with the nation's only baccalaureate nursing school.

Linda H. Aiken, professor and director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, volunteered to spearhead the project. She has taken measurements of nursing practices at the facilities and will monitor the hospitals for two years, she said.

Hospitals in the former Soviet Union don't have systems designed for or focused on optimal nursing care, Aiken said.

The project is being funded by the American International Health Alliance (AIHA) and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Reprinted with permission from the American Journal of Nursing. © 2003 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

New Zealand Nurses Visit Credentialing International Headquarters

New Zealand Nurses Magnet Study Group member Amanda Arnold (l.) offers her perspective on the Magnet Recognition Program® as two of her colleagues listen.

Credentialing International hosted a meeting with the New Zealand Nurses Magnet Study Group on June 11, 2003. Ten senior nurses from New Zealand and one from Australia met with ANCC volunteers and Credentialing International and Magnet Recognition Program^® staff to discuss the Magnet Recognition Program^® and other ANCC services.

ANCC Executive Director and Director of Credentialing International Jeanne Floyd, PhD, RN, CAE, opened the day's discussions by welcoming the guests, explaining the plan for the day and introducing the ANCC directors. The visiting nurses described their positions, major responsibilities, and their interest in ANCC programs.

Dr. Floyd expressed her appreciation to the New Zealand delegation for the documents and prior discussions regarding the Guidelines for Cultural Safety, the Treaty of Waitangi, and Maori Health in Nursing and Midwifery Education and Practice. She spoke about the book, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, by Peter Senge who writes about the five disciplines that converge in a learning community. His views provide a framework for understanding the power of the transformational process that occurs within an organization which makes a commitment to begin the Magnet journey. The commitment causes everyone in the organization to stretch themselves toward achieving excellence in patient care.

New Zealand Nurses Magnet Study Group members (l. to r.) Shelley Frost, Jackie Crisp and Jane Brosnahan learn about ANCC programs during a recent meeting at Credentialing International headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Distinguished members of the Commission on Magnet Recognition (COM), including Chair Linda Urden, DNSc, RN, CNA, FAAN and Commissioner Brenda Kelly, MA, BSN, RN, CNAA, gave a presentation on the Magnet Recognition Program^® along with Accreditation and Magnet Recognition Program^®s Director Kammie Monarch, RN, MS, JD. International Advisory Council Co-Chair Peggy Jones, MSN, MBA, RN, CNAA, discussed the ANCC International Advisory Council. Magnet Commissioner Steve Pitkin, MN, RN, and ANCC Board of Directors Vice President Patricia Yoder-Wise, EdD, RN,C, CNAA, FAAN, presented a session on the perspectives of the educator. Tony Disser, RN, Chief Operating Officer / Chief Nurse Executive at Inova Fairfax Hospital, discussed his experiences as the chief nurse executive of a Magnet-designated facility.

Some of the objectives of the New Zealand nurses included:

• Be familiar with a range of leadership literature, leadership styles and leadership programs;
• Understand the Magnet Recognition Program^® principles and processes, including off-shore requirements;
• Demonstrate leadership skills necessary to lead their relevant District Health Boards' implementation of a Magnet Recognition Program^®.

To conclude the day's activities, Dr. Floyd invited all the participants to a delicious and convivial dinner at her home.

Credentialing International staff extends our deepest appreciation to the New Zealand delegation and ANCC volunteers for their participation in this exciting and informative day. It was an honor for Credentialing International to have the opportunity to host such an extraordinary event.

The New Zealand Nurses Magnet Study Group, Magnet Commissioners and staff, and International Advisory Council Co-Chair convene at Credentialing International headquarters in Washington, D.C., to discuss ANCC programs.

The New Zealand Nurses Magnet Study Group included the following participants:

Credentialing International Forms Alliance with New Zealand Ministry of Health

Chief Nursing Advisor of the New Zealand Ministry of Health Frances Hughes (l.) with ANCC Executive Director Dr. Jeanne Floyd

At the invitation of Frances Hughes, Chief Nursing Advisor of the New Zealand Ministry of Health, and the New Zealand Magnet Advisory Network, ANCC Executive Director Dr. Jeanne Floyd visited New Zealand in Autumn 2002 to discuss the Magnet Recognition Program^® and other ANCC services with key individuals in the New Zealand health care system. The dialogue among the parties advanced significantly regarding the value of ANCC programs, and solid plans were laid for rapidly moving the work forward. Following Dr. Floyd's visit, Dr. Linda Aiken, Director of the Center for Health Services and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania and member of the ANCC International Advisory Council, presented her research in New Zealand on the Magnet Recognition Program^®.

Among the principal purposes of Dr. Floyd's visit were to educate colleagues in the New Zealand health care ministry regarding the value of the Magnet Recognition Program^® and other ANCC programs and explain the working relationships among the American Nurses Association, ANCC and Credentialing International. She also examined the application of the 14 forces of magnetism to New Zealand nursing and health care, and outlined the Magnet application process.

The New Zealand Nurses Organization, which comprises membership from all the major nursing groups in the country, supports the concept of instituting ANCC Magnet standards to New Zealand hospitals. The New Zealand Magnet Advisory Network has been formed to ensure an effective and coordinated approach. The Network has completed a review of the Magnet standards, and the Ministry of Health is currently considering the feedback received from ANCC in late 2002. The Advisory Network will soon develop a strategic plan for moving a number of facilities toward achieving Magnet recognition.

Dr. Floyd met with representatives of the Nursing Council of New Zealand, the regulatory body governing the practice of all nurses and midwives in New Zealand. She also met with the National Health Committee, established by statute to advise the Minister of Health on the kinds and relative priorities of health services that it believes should be publicly funded.

Additionally, Dr. Floyd held discussions with representatives of the New Zealand Nurses Organization. They considered the role of the nursing organization in ensuring support for professional nursing and raising the bar for quality health care, the link with Magnet being significant on both accounts. Dr. Floyd also participated in three media events including newsletter, newspaper and radio interviews. A study tour to the United States of several New Zealand representatives was planned for 2003 that will be led by Professor Jan Duke, Head of the Graduate School of Nursing and Midwifery at the Victoria University of Wellington.

Following her visit, Dr. Floyd stated: "I extend my deepest appreciation and thanks to Frances Hughes and all the New Zealand colleagues who made it possible for me to meet and dialogue with many key persons involved in the New Zealand health care system. In a spirit of fellowship, enthusiasm and generosity, the 'kiwis' opened their homes and introduced me to their families and friends and they invited me to participate in special events. At the end of the visit, it was clear that the best of colleagues had been added to the ANCC professional network. I had come to appreciate their extraordinary culture, including the indigenous Maori population, and spectacular countryside."

First International Organization Recognized
by ANCC for Excellence in Nursing Services

Rochdale Healthcare of U.K. Earns "Magnet" Status

Washington, DC--The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the United States' leading nursing credentialing organization, has awarded its Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Services designation to Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust in Lancashire, United Kingdom. Rochdale becomes the first organization headquartered outside of the United States to receive this distinguished recognition. Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust is a provider of acute and community-based health care within the North West region of the National Health Service. The Trust manages Birch Hill Hospital and Rochdale Infirmary.

"This is a milestone for nursing globally. ANCC identifies those institutions, such as Rochdale, that greatly value the important role played by nursing professionals and their contribution to patient care," said ANCC Executive Director Jeanne Floyd, PhD, RN, CAE. She continues, "Magnet designation is the highest level of recognition that the ANCC can accord to nursing services."

The leadership of nursing at Rochdale Healthcare Trust, in acknowledging the valuable contribution made by nurses to the wide corporate agenda, encourages a collaborative strategic approach in preference to a stand-alone nursing strategy. This innovative approach provides the scope for all nurses to actively participate in organizational development. Significant investment is made in training, education and professional development.

Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust joins a distinguished list of Magnet designated organizations, which includes Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles, CA), Mayo-Rochester Hospital (Rochester, MN) Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (New Brunswick, NJ), and the University of Washington Medical Center (Seattle, WA). The recognition lasts four years.

"Magnet has encouraged me to collate evidence of my own activities in relation to Magnet standards. In this way Magnet has become integral to my way of working," said Tracey Williamson, a research nurse. ANCC's Magnet designation is achieved after successfully completing a process whereby a team of professionals with experience in quality indicators, nursing administration, and nursing care appraises a hospital's nursing services, clinical outcomes, and patient care delivery as defined in the American Nurses Association's Scope and Standards for Nurse Administrators. The appraisers not only review traditional "nurse-sensitive" indicators, but also conduct extensive interviews that help evaluate the management philosophy and advocacy practice of the chief nurse executive with respect to the patient, family, community and nursing services.

This page last revised 4/7/2006.