Penn Medicine recently created the Distinguished Nurse Clinician Academy. Its members are chosen for their exceptional clinical knowledge and interprofessional skills as well as a passion for their work … at the bedside. The Academy’s goal is to spread this level of clinical excellence through UPHS as well as into the practice of future nurses. The program is based on Penn Medicine’s Academy of Master Clinicians, which recognizes UPHS physicians who exemplify the highest standards of clinical excellence, humanism and professionalism.
This focus on nursing excellence is not surprising: Studies have shown a direct correlation between the expertise and experience of a hospital’s nursing staff and its rates of complications and death among patients. In other words, the better the quality – and support – of nurses, the better off the patients are.
The Academy program may be new but Penn Medicine’s support of its nursing staff is not. Sixteen years ago, it established the Clinical Advancement and Recognition Program, a way for nurses to advance in their careers while continuing to deliver bedside care. With emphasis on the nurse-patient relationship, continuity, accountability, and collaboration in providing patient care, the program “recognizes clinical nurses for their contributions to quality patient care, as well as their clinical knowledge and professional achievements,” said Kathleen Burke, PhD, RN, corporate director of Nursing Professional Development and Innovation. Each year, Penn Medicine nursing leadership celebrates clinical nurses throughout the Health System and presents those who go above and beyond with UPHS Nursing Excellence Awards.
In 2007, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania was among the first in the region to obtain the Magnet designation, one of the highest achievements a hospital can obtain in professional nursing. Today, all five Penn Medicine hospitals have this gold standard for nursing excellence. Less than seven percent of health-care organizations in this country have this designation, which studies show leads to improved clinical outcomes.
A 2010 landmark study by the Institute of Medicine (now called the National Academy of Medicine) recommended that, based on nurses caring for sicker patients and using more sophisticated technology in hospitals, 80 percent of them should hold at least a baccalaureate in nursing (BSN) by 2020. Penn Medicine was at the forefront of this practice model. Today, nearly all nurses hired to work within its hospitals must have a bachelor’s degree in nursing -- or higher.
Now, the Distinguished Nurse Clinician Academy will continue this push to maintain excellence. Six nurses were recently chosen for the inaugural class, from among 32 nominations. “They are truly remarkable clinicians,” said Regina Cunningham, PhD, HUP’s chief nurse executive. “Their nursing practice and behavior is consistently above and beyond. They exemplify the best nurses can be and serve as role models who can influence colleagues and have a lasting impact on others.”
“The Penn Medicine environment empowers nurses,” Burke said. “It’s a culture of ‘You’re important. Your opinion counts.’ Nurses who left and came back tell me, ‘I didn’t realize that all nurses aren’t treated this way.’ ”
Photo caption: Diane Lawson, MSN, RN, an inaugural member of Penn Medicine's Distinguished Nurse Clinician Academy, confers with Matthew Kelly, MD.