Representatives from BWFH attend 2018 ANCC National Magnet Conference

The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program® recognizes healthcare organizations for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice. As part of Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital’s continued quest for Magnet Designation, seven delegates from BWFH recently attended the 2018 ANCC National Magnet Conference® held in Denver, Colorado.

On August 1, 2018, BWFH submitted its complete set of written documents for Magnet Designation. The hospital is currently awaiting notification of a site visit from the Magnet organization. The annual conference in October gave participants a glimpse of what’s to come, from preparing for the site visit to the work needed to maintain Magnet Designation in the years to come.

Among the BWFH representatives to the 2018 ANCC National Magnet Conference were Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services Cori Loescher, MM, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, Executive Director of Nursing Professional Development, Practice and Innovation Colleen West, DNP, MBA, RN, CPHQ, Quality and Magnet Program Manager Tracy Lane, BSN, RN-BC, Senior Manager of Care Continuum Management Jim Grafton, MSN, MHA, RN, Liz Vazquez, BSN, RN, from Care Continuum Management, Ginny Ryan, MSN, RN, from the PACU and Dan Rec, BSN, RN, from Pre-Op Holding.

For Grafton, the three-day conference was uplifting. “It helped reinforce the things that we do every day,” he says. “It makes you feel very proud to work in a profession where a whole team of people can come together to work towards a common goal of helping others.”

Vazquez had a similar experience. “I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to represent BWFH at the conference. The energy from the 10,000+ nurses that attended was infectious and reminded me how proud I was to be a nurse,” she says.

Ryan, too, is grateful for the opportunity to attend. “It was an incredible experience to be surrounded by such extraordinary nurses. The positive energy was palpable and contagious! I was proud to walk away knowing how far above the curve BWFH currently is... but did bring back a few new ideas to share!” she says.

Rec was also reminded of just how advanced BWFH is when it comes to quality patient care and how far we still have to go. “Our hospital is already doing a lot of the things to promote better patient care,” he says. “But there is always room for improvement and this convention was able to help point us in other directions we were not looking at.”

Next up for BWFH in its quest for Magnet Designation is recruiting Magneteers. If you are interested in helping to create awareness, involvement and engagement among the clinical team in your area, contact Quality and Magnet Program Manager Tracy Lane, BSN, RN-BC.