THE PATHWAYS JOURNEY
Presented by:
Norma Jean Cole, RN, MSN, MBA-HC
Clinical Manager | Women's Services
Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital
Trish Deems, MEd., BSN, RN
Director of Education
Beaufort Memorial Hospital
April 11,2014
A Journey
• A Journey is described as traveling from one
place to another, usually taking a rather long
time.
• Passage or progress from one stage to
another.
Dictionary.com
A Journey
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a
single step.
Taking the Journey
ANCC website for Pathway to Excellence is
a great first stop on your journey.
– Ensure this is the journey you want to take
– Find out what steps to take and how to get
started.
What is Pathway to
Excellence?
The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC)
Pathway to Excellence® program recognizes health
care organizations that have the essential elements
of an ideal nursing practice environment.
To earn Pathway designation, an organization must
demonstrate that it has integrated 12 practice
standards into its operating policies,
procedures, and management structure.
The 12 Practice Standards
1. Nurses Control the Practice of Nursing
2. The Work Environment is Safe and Healthy
3. Systems are in Place to Address Patient Care and
Practice Concerns
4. Orientation Prepares Nurses for the Work
Environment
5. The CNO is Qualified and Participates at All
Levels of the Organization
6. Professional Development is Provided and Used
The 12 Practice Standards
7. Equitable Compensation is Provided
8. Nurses Are Recognized for Achievement
9. A Balanced Lifestyle is Encouraged
10. Collaborative Relationships Are Valued and
Supported
11. Nurse Managers Are Competent and
Accountable
12. A Quality Program and Evidence-Based Practices
are Used
A Good First Step
The Self Assessment:
• Is your organization meeting requirements?
• How does your organization compare against the 12
elements?
• Who are your key stakeholders?
• Be honest in your response to the questions.
Identifying Gaps
• The Self-Assessment helps to identify strengths and
weaknesses.
• Accurate analysis of the gap results is very
important to making the decision to continue the
journey.
• If you decide to take the journey the next step is to
develop action plans to fill your gaps.
Closing the gaps
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Make an action plan
Develop a timeline
Understand challenges
Form task groups
Include staff nurses
Decide if you need a Pathway consultant
Making the Commitment
• Identify a Pathway Coordinator
• Know who and where your resources are
– Who knows the organization and has history
– Who can write
– Do you have a really good editor
• Ensure your timeline is realistic
• Have a budget
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People / Time
Money
Equipment
Printing
Celebration
A Journey Worth Taking
Passion
Mount Pleasant Hospital is motivated by a true
passion for a positive practice environment where
nurses are fully engaged and patients receive high
quality care. The Pathway to Excellence program
matched our passion and our vision.
We at Beaufort Memorial knew we were already
meeting the standards form everything we had
already done. We were ready to be a Pathway to
Excellence hospital!
Commitment
This journey is important to us because we view this
designation as a symbolic commitment to the
community we serve. This journey was not exclusive
to Mount Pleasant hospital; it embodies everyone
within our hospital System and reflects our desire to
help each other and the desire to fully carry out our
mission.
It is important to all our BMH community and the
community at large to know we excel in patient care.
Challenges
Our biggest challenge was unexpected. When we
started gathering the stories from staff we realized the
power behind each story and the commonality among
the stories became “it’s what I do”. We did not realize
how difficult it would be to narrow down the
extraordinary stories. We wanted to use every story
and every experience.
At BMH we too had and still have so many stories and
as we are working to re-designation it is even harder
to choose which ones to include.
Reward
Our biggest challenge also became our biggest reward.
The completed document felt like a love letter filled
with extraordinary stories of selflessness and
commitment to each other, our patients and the
community we serve.
The greatest reward is feeling the organizational pride
after we received the designation.
We realized we live Pathway to Excellence every day.
Benefits - Nurses
Pride is a shared feeling in both our organizations.
Our nurses are proud of their accomplishments.
Since the beginning of our journey the nurses have
gained a firm understanding of the meaning of
Pathway to Excellence and the connection to what we
do every day.
Benefits - Organization
Mt. Pleasant:
• Consumer education and looking for designations
• Lends confidence in community and demonstrates
support of the System
• Nurses choosing this hospital
BMH:
• Have experienced much better collaboration
interdepartmentally. Every department knows they
contributed in some way.
Benefits - Patients
• Patients benefit from this designation by receiving
care in an environment where nurses drive
professional practice
• Patients benefit from this designation by receiving
care from cohesive, coordinated care teams
• Patients feel the care they receive is exceptional.
• The designation is an outward expression of their
lived experience
Practical Advice
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The journey must be a shared decision among staff
Full leader support
Engagement of board of directors
Give yourself time to write
Keep records of everything
Staff led teams to promote ownership
Use charters for teams to establish commitment to
timelines
HAVE FUN!!!!
Celebrate mile markers along the way
Share stories with hospital staff along the way
Round on units with treats!!!
Celebrate every chance you get!!!
A Defining Moment
The first defining moment was the unanimous
decision to move forward with the Pathway to
Excellence journey.
The decision was shared by every nursing staff
member and from that moment forward,
the
journey
felt
right.
QUESTIONS?