The Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Heart and Lung Center and Children and Adolescents submitted their first-stage Magnet Hospital applications in November 2020.
Magnet Hospital status is awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), and there are several stages in the process. The Magnet Hospital model emphasizes health care quality, patient safety and the job satisfaction of the nursing staff.
“HUS is among the best in the world in the medical care given for many patient groups, and our nursing must also be of a certifiably good standard. Magnet Hospital is the only research-based quality system that measures the quality of nursing. The Magnet Hospital model helps us improve our nursing so that it is even safer and better than before,” says Chief Nursing Executive Kaarina Torppa.
It took years of development and harmonization of operating practices just to be able to start the application process. The Magnet Hospital model has 50 evaluation criteria, and evaluation focuses on results.
“In the Magnet Hospital application process, comparison with results from similar hospitals is performed via a database in the USA, and we must be able to demonstrate our excellence in comparison with other hospitals,” says Marita Ritmala-Castrén, head of the Magnet Hospital program.
Improvement requires continuous monitoring and evaluation
At HUS, we improve and evaluate our nursing systematically across the board, not just in the units applying for Magnet Hospital status. Systematic monitoring data are needed to ensure quality and safety. We measure things like the number of pressure injuries, falls and infections.
The Magnet Hospital application process focuses on the quality of nursing also from the perspective of patient satisfaction. We collect patient feedback on nursing through our website and in some units with a concentrated survey campaign four times a year. Patient feedback on nursing is an important tool for improving our day-to-day nursing work and an excellent indicator for evaluating the changes to be made in nursing practices.
In the first stage of the application process, the ANCC evaluates how well the organization satisfies the criteria and then decides whether to allow the organization to proceed to the next stage. The time for submitting the actual application is generally 1 to 2 years from starting the application process, at which time all criteria must be satisfied. The first HUS units could be awarded Magnet Hospital status in 2022.