Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) announced today that it has received Magnet® recognition, the nation’s highest honor for excellence in nursing. Granted by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), Magnet® recognition is the most prestigious distinction a healthcare organization can receive for nursing excellence and quality patient outcomes. Only about 7 percent of hospitals nationally carry this prestigious designation.
“We have always known that MSK nurses are in a class of their own, and today we received official word that the rest of the world will know too,” said Craig B. Thompson, MD, President and CEO of MSK.
The official announcement was received by Elizabeth Nelkin McCormick, MSN, RN, CENP, Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer of MSK on February 17 at in the auditorium of MSK’s Zuckerman Research Center, where she was joined by hundreds of nurses, doctors, administrators, and other allied professional and support personnel to celebrate the news conveyed directly from Donna Havens, PhD, RN, FAAN, Chair of the Commission for the Magnet Recognition Program®.
“This is a well-deserved recognition that cannot be achieved without the full support of the entire institution,” explained McCormick. “Our leadership has always recognized the integral role nurses play in the care team and has empowered and engaged our nurses to achieve excellent clinical outcomes. The lifelong relationships that many of our nurses have with patients serve as a testament to the compassion and relationship-centered care we provide at MSK.”
MSK’s Department of Nursing includes over 2,900 highly knowledgeable and expertly skilled nurses, who specialize in the delivery of compassionate, evidence-based cancer care to patients of all ages and in a wide variety of clinical settings. Care is provided in collaboration with physicians and other members of the healthcare team across the continuum of care: prevention, risk determination, detection, treatment, symptom management, survivorship, and end-of-life care.
To achieve Magnet® recognition, organizations must pass a rigorous and lengthy process that demands widespread participation from nurses at all levels, support from hospital leadership, and collaboration from all other staff. The process begins with the submission of an electronic application, followed by written documentation demonstrating qualitative and quantitative evidence regarding transformational leadership, shared governance, an innovative practice and learning environment, patient outcomes, and nurse job satisfaction. Magnet® appraisers review and score the written documentation, and if determined to fall within a range of excellence, an on-site visit by the appraiser team occurs. After this meticulous on-site review process, the Commission on Magnet® Recognition reviews the completed appraisal report and votes to determine whether Magnet® recognition will be granted.
