Magnet® Re-Designation Lends Extra Fervor to National Nurses Week
May 03, 2012
The Medical Center of Plano will show appreciation to its 700-plus nurses
At The Medical Center of Plano, this year's celebration of Nurses Week will be especially jubilant, coming as it does just a few short weeks after the hospital was notified that its Magnet® designation had been extended for an additional four years by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Magnet Recognition Program®.
The Magnet® credential is the highest honor a healthcare organization can receive for professional nursing practice. The Medical Center of Plano was first recognized as a Magnet® hospital in 2007. In March it became the first hospital in Collin County to earn Magnet® re-designation.
"We're always happy to join with other healthcare institutions nationwide in acknowledging the nursing profession and the wonderful people who dedicate themselves to it," said Troy A. Villarreal, FACHE, president and chief executive officer of The Medical Center of Plano. "But this year's observance will take on a special meaning around here."
Nurses Week begins May 6 – Registered Nurses Recognition Day – and concludes May 12, birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. Throughout the seven-day period, registered nurses at The Medical Center of Plano will be saluted in a variety of ways, from special meals and prize drawings to a "spa day" on which a number of special beauty-related services will be offered.
Sponsored by the American Nurses Association (ANA), and organized this year around the theme "Nurses: Advocating, Leading, Caring," Nurses Week highlights the contributions of the nation's 3.1 million registered nurses, who strive each day to save lives, relieve suffering, and improve overall well-being. As a group, they comprise the single largest segment of the healthcare workforce.
The more than 700 nurses employed at The Medical Center of Plano represent more than 30 specialties and sub-specialties. At year-end 2011, more than half (55 percent) of the hospital’s RNs had earned at least a bachelor’s degree in nursing. More than one-third (36 percent) were certified in their area of specialization.
Board certification is an increasingly important part of the effort to ensure patients receive care which conforms to the highest standards. The knowledge-intensive requirements of modern nursing require a commitment to continuing education, as well as strong personal devotion to excellence on the part of each nurse.
In addition to its Magnet® recognition, The Medical Center of Plano also owns the distinction of having been the first hospital in Collin County to be designated "nurse-friendly" by the Texas Nurses Association, the ANA’s Texas-based subsidiary.
The "nurse-friendly" title signifies that the hospital's practices, policies, and culture were found by the TNA to embody characteristics essential to the maintenance of an ideal practice environment for nursing.