Methodist Dallas Medical Center Achieves Magnet® Recognition
By Barbara Madden, MSN, RN
Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer
Methodist Dallas Medical Center
On July 29, 2019, we got very exciting news. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) called to tell us that Methodist Dallas Medical Center had achieved Magnet® designation for excellence in nursing. We were thrilled, especially knowing that less than 10 percent of hospitals in the United States have earned this prestigious recognition.
Of course, we had a huge celebration, complete with a marching band! It was wonderful to see all of the Methodist Dallas folks participating, including frontline nurses, physicians, our senior administrative team, and leaders from the corporate office. So many people have worked very hard over the last four years to reach this milestone, and to see the fruition of all of our work is really gratifying.
This honor is really meaningful to us because there’s a lot of research showing that Magnet-designated hospitals have higher engagement, lower nurse turnover, and lower nurse burnout due to the fact that nurses really have a voice within the hospital. We know what this means to nursing candidates. Nursing schools tell their graduates to look for organizations that have achieved Magnet recognition because those are the organizations that generally put their nurses first. We already have a great reputation among nursing schools for being very supportive of nurses. This endorsement just reinforces our good name.
We have always tried to make the extra effort for our nurses. In our most recent nurse engagement survey results, we had very high engagement scores, which signifies that nurses are happy here. They’re engaged, and they want to stay.
We’re also celebrating the recognition of three Exemplars — examples of excellence in nursing practice — that we earned along with our Magnet designation. We were recognized for providing nursing education opportunities with our Future Nurse Intensive Program, a two-week summer program designed to support the development of students who have an interest in pursuing nursing careers.
In addition, we earned recognition for inpatient units that outperform the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) national mean for the percentage of patients that are provided stroke education. This means that we are doing a good job of educating both nurses and patients.
We were also recognized for the percentage of ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients receiving primary percutaneous coronary intervention within 90 minutes from arrival at hospital. In other words, we are treating heart attack patients in a timely, lifesaving manner. That adds up to better patient outcomes, something near and dear to nurses’ hearts.
I believe that the opportunities we have here at Methodist Dallas are especially broad, given our status as a Level I Trauma Center and a Comprehensive Stroke Center. We also have a renowned transplant program whose arms stretch not only regionally but internationally. So the diversity of patients that we see and the specialty programs and service lines that we offer really lend nurses a wide span of learning and growth opportunities.
I know this from personal experience. I started here right out of nursing school. And I’ve had a number of different roles leading up to the CNO role I’m currently in. So there’s plenty of opportunity for folks to grow. For example, our Clinical Advancement Program allows nurses to move from a level one, two, or three nurse to a master’s-prepared bedside nurse. That is very attractive to nurses who want to progress in their careers.
One of the reasons I love Methodist Dallas is that we have great collaborative relationships. Our teamwork here is just phenomenal. When you’re all rolling in the same direction, it really makes a huge difference for our patients. I think we just have a culture of caring for each other. I’m super blessed to have a great nursing leadership team and a great frontline staff. It’s all of us together who have achieved this designation.
If you’re looking for an organization that is committed to the highest standards of care and want to be part of a team of exceptional nurses, consider Methodist Health System. Visit us at Jobs.MethodistHealthSytem.org.
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