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UVA Health University Medical Center nursing has been through a lot in the past several years. But thanks to the nursing strategic plan that was finalized in January 2025, they’re operating from a place of strength.

“Three years ago, we were in survival mode and didn’t have a lot of wiggle room to think beyond what 'we had to do' to stabilize,” explains Jennifer “JT” Hall, MSN, RN, CNL, Director, University Medical Center Nursing Professional Practice. “This is the first time since the pandemic that it feels like we had a little bit of room for 'we get to' in our strategic planning.”

With Purpose and In Detail

Hall shares that the 2025 plan is thoughtful, ambitious, and deeply grounded in organizational goals and frontline realities. Directly aligned with the 10-year UVA Health strategic plan, the nursing strategic plan centers on the five key overlapping areas where nursing plays a vital role:

• Easy access
• Superior patient outcomes
• Best place to work
• Community engagement and health equity
• Research with translational impact

Within each of these areas, nursing-specific initiatives are laid out with purpose and in detail. Though a committee puts together the plan every year, Hall stresses it’s a whole-team effort. “Everything we put in our plan is very much informed by our nurses’ and leaders’ experiences, what other organizations are doing, and our own data,” she explains. “The team did such a good job of getting input from so many stakeholders. We are continuing to listen to the feedback of our nurses and innovate as an organization.”

'Most True Sense'

One highlight of the plan is its emphasis on strengthening professional governance at the unit level — what Hall calls the "most true sense" of foundational nursing practice. “If our local level isn’t strong, then the rest of the structure is compromised,” she explains.

An example of this approach in action was the December 2024 governance workshop organized by the Nursing Professional Governance Organization (NPGO). During the workshop, all units were encouraged to conduct a practice environment assessment to determine what matters most to their teams. Nursing leadership then gave them the resources they needed to follow up on the areas they wanted to work on. The recent positive response from March’s Magnet site visit was affirming: “People could speak about that workshop,” Hall says. “We got a lot of accolades from the appraisers, which was very validating.”

Still, Hall acknowledges the reality that not every team will always be perfectly aligned, which is why they update the nursing strategic plan every calendar year. “Realistically, teams have different priorities at different times,” she notes. “There’s a natural cadence, and we need to continuously evaluate, 'Is it working the way we want it to work?'"

Positioned to Excel

Hall credits UVA Health University Medical Center Chief Nursing Officer Kathy Baker, PhD, RN, NE-BC, FAAN, with setting the tone. Baker acknowledges this is an ambitious plan: “Legendary tennis champion Billie Jean King, said: 'Pressure is a privilege that only comes to those who earn it.' Our 2025 nursing strategic plan — guided by our UVA Health strategic plan — is ambitious and will pressure our teams only to be satisfied when they reach the highest level of performance."

"But we have earned it and positioned ourselves to excel — I can’t wait to see what our team can accomplish together!” Baker adds.