Appraisers Learn ‘Magnet’ Tools at School of Nursing

Nursing administrators, deans and chief nursing officers from around the country met Feb. 9-10 at The University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston to learn appraisal skills for determining whether a hospital merits “magnet” status. A project of the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the status is so exclusive that it has been granted to fewer than 200 hospitals in more than 20 years.

Pamela Klauer Triolo, Ph.D., right, director of nursing leadership and administration in health systems at the UT nursing school, greets Elaine Scherer, director of the ANCC’s Magnet Recognition Program. Magnet hospitals have shown that they consistently outperform non-magnet organizations, deliver better patient outcomes and satisfaction rates, and enjoy increased nurse retention and recruitment rates, Scherer said.

This was the first appraiser training the ANCC has ever held outside their headquarters in Maryland. The Texas Medical Center contains the highest percentage of magnet hospitals in the United States, including St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital, The Methodist Hospital, UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and Veteran’s Administration Hospital. Photo by Nancy Hudgins