Caitlin Whyte (Host): Welcome to another episode of WakeMed Voices, where we explore health and wellness topics with the expertise of WakeMed professionals. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. Today, we're thrilled to have Dr. Jill Whede, the Director of WakeMed's Magnet Program, join us.

Doctor, to start us off today, can you tell us what is Magnet recognition?

Dr. Jill Whede: Yeah. Thank you for asking. It's a worldwide designation that hospitals may earn from the American Nurses Credentialing Center for nursing excellence, quality patient care, and providing supportive work environments. A Magnet-recognized hospital demonstrates the hospital's commitment, and I need you to hear that-- that word commitment-- to nursing excellence, improved patient outcomes, and a work environment where staff are supported. It means that a Magnet-designated organization where the hospital is committed, that's considered the gold standard of quality patient care, and nursing excellence, meaning the hospital has received the highest recognition for attracting, retaining, and empowering a highly skilled nursing workforce.

Magnet-designated hospitals attract and retain staff. So, the Magnet recognition program, which is administered again by the ANCC, the American Nurses Credentialing Center. It's a voluntary program, and it recognizes those healthcare organizations worldwide that meet these high standards. Achieving Magnet status is a significant accomplishment as it demonstrates a hospital's-- that word-- commitment, again, to nursing excellence and patient care.

Host: Wonderful. Well, so proud to have this recognition. And Doctor, how many Magnet-recognized healthcare organizations are there in the world?

Dr. Jill Whede: So, there are only 627 Magnet-designated hospitals in the world, right? That's 3%. And less than 10% of those hospitals are in the United States that are Magnet-designated. And North Carolina, here, we have 11 Magnet healthcare organizations. And of course, WakeMed is one of those Magnet-designated organizations that are committed to nursing excellence.

Host: Now, what does Magnet status mean for me as a patient?

Dr. Jill Whede: So, Magnet hospitals consistently demonstrate high quality, safe patient care, which leads to better clinical results, such as a shorter length of stay. You're going to have better patient satisfaction and decreased mortality rates. So, to achieve Magnet status, the hospitals undergo this rigorous process demonstrating excellence in areas such as helping prevent a patient fall or a hospital-acquired infection such as a central line infection or a catheter-associated urinary tract infection. The focus truly is on improving you as a patient, your overall stay at the hospital. So, it's all about the patient.

Host: And then, what does Magnet status mean for me as a staff member or a nurse at WakeMed?

Dr. Jill Whede: So, yeah, I'm going to say it again, that Magnet hospitals, like WakeMed is committed to attracting, retaining, and empowering nurses. What that looks like here, what our hospital, WakeMed has done, it's invested in education for nurses, professional development, supportive and visible nurse leader team and, more importantly, recognition. Everyone loves good recognition. And that's something that nurses really appreciate in their everyday practice, being recognized for that.

For example, under the nursing education department's leadership, our organization had a campaign to increase the number of certified nurses. We know that nurses who sit for their specialty certification demonstrate a higher level of expertise. It boosts their confidence, it provides opportunities for career advancement and, more importantly, leads to better patient outcomes and a positive patient experience. So, that's just one example of what it means to me to be a Magnet nurse.

Host: Well, we love to hear that now. How does this impact our community at large?

Dr. Jill Whede: Yeah. So, Magnet hospitals implement and disseminate evidence-based practice. So, did you know that on an average, it takes 17 years for published research best practices to be widely incorporated into daily clinical practice? That's crazy. Seventeen years. So when you're at a Magnet-designated organization, when you're in a community where you have a Magnet hospital next door, you know that Magnet nurses are intentionally committed to diving into that literature and translating those best practices into their daily nursing care such that it won't take 17 years.

Now, this also means that our hospital is willing to foster an innovative work environment, one that supports nurses who think outside of the box and are open to suggestions. Nurse leaders intentionally ask bedside nurses for their input on daily practice. So, research has shown that when clinical nurses have a voice in their daily practice, guess what? They're more likely to include patients in their healthcare decisions. So, it's kind of a trickle down effect, if you will. So, that is truly shared decision-making happening there, and that shared decision-making is the hallmark of Magnet organizations. So, that's how it impacts the community.

Host: Now, what do you want people to remember about Magnet? What's one takeaway for our listeners from this conversation?

Dr. Jill Whede: It is truly an honor and a privilege to work at a Magnet-designated healthcare organization where patients and families are the priority. Nurses have a voice in their daily practice. Leaders support me and empower nurses and staff to have a voice in their daily practice, and the organization is committed to excellence. I mean, who wouldn't want to work at a Magnet hospital?

Host: Well, that leads me to my next question here in our last of this episode. Why should a nursing student consider working for a Magnet organization?

Dr. Jill Whede: Great question. As a matter of fact, I got a text this week from a nursing student who's going to school in Virginia and heard about WakeMed being a Magnet hospital. And it being a great place to work in an organization that supports new graduate nurses. So, WakeMed has a new graduate program, it's called the Nursing Resident program. It's a year-long program where new grads come together to discuss their experiences, receive support, and learn more about soft skills, because we all learn those basic skills in nursing school, but sometimes we don't necessarily learn all the soft skills like conflict resolution, that kind of thing.

We know from the literature that the main reason a new nurse resident is going to leave an organization in the first year is because they don't have a sense of belonging. Gosh, that just makes me sad. But what's encouraging is WakeMed has had a program in place for 20 years, and the one-year retention rate is 91%, whereas the benchmark for new grads staying at their first hospital is 79%. The two-year retention rate that WakeMeds been tracking over the last eight years is 75%, or the benchmark is 52%. And then, we just started tracking our three-year retention rate, and it's 61%. And of course, guess what? There's no benchmark out there for new grads staying at their original hospital for more than three years. So, Magnet organizations really recognize the importance of caring and supporting for our new graduate nurses.

Caitlin Whyte (Host): I'm Caitlin Whyte with WakeMed Voices,

Host: brought to you by WakeMed Health and Hospitals in Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information about WakeMed, a Magnet-recognized health system, and to explore nursing opportunities with us, please visit jobs.wakemed.org. Thank you for tuning in and be sure to join us for more enlightening conversations in our upcoming episodes.