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Friday, Sept. 18, marked the culmination of four years of work and the completion of the 2020 Magnet site visit.

The Magnet Recognition Program honors health care organizations for meeting nursing benchmarks, and UVA is in a top-tier of hospitals – less than 10% – with a Magnet designation. The Magnet redesignation process, which happens every four years, includes written documentation and a site visit.

After the site visit concluded on Friday, nursing leaders held a virtual town hall where Mary Dixon, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, and JT Hall, RN, Magnet Program Coordinator, gave a debrief of the experience. Below is a recap of what was shared.

This was the first time the Magnet site visit was completed virtually, which increased the complexity of planning.

“We thought it would be more work, but it was so much more work than we thought it would be,” Hall said during the town hall. “It took a small city!”

Hall recognized a lineup of departments and individuals who contributed to the planning: Telemed, Health Information Technology, the Web Development Center, Catering, and a host of other behind-the-scenes team members who helped make the four days go smoothly. “For the work that went into getting everything ready – lots of additional hours, lots of incredible commitment – we can’t thank you enough.”

During the site visit, Dixon explained, “the appraisers come to validate, verify, and give us the chance to amplify our story.”

The appraisers met virtually with 36 different practice settings, five of which were off-site, held 17 group sessions, and hosted 10 sessions with a random selection nurses. The appraisers applauded the work of our team for mentorship, lean methodology, teamwork, visual management, shared governance, ambulatory clinics, COVID-preparedness, and more.

The appraisers found no deficiencies during the site visit and validated all scores in the written documentation.

“Appraisers were glowing – I mean, glowing – in their comments about UVA Health,” said Dixon. “The lead appraiser commented that this was an ‘absolutely fabulous site visit,’ and the other three appraisers reiterated that.”

The Magnet appraisal team will compile a final report and send it to the International Commission on Magnet for review. In about eight weeks, we will be notified of the outcome.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our team, I couldn’t be prouder of our professional practice, and I couldn’t be prouder of the interprofessional collaboration that takes place every single day in this organization,” Dixon said. “I have said many times that Magnet is nursing-centric, but it takes the entire organization to be committed to this level of clinical excellence.”

Read more Magnet Reflections and see photos on the PNSO website. Thank you to everyone who helped make the Magnet site visit a success!