In celebration of UW Health Wisconsin receiving its fourth Magnet designation in 2023, a group of UW Health RNs and leaders from Wisconsin and Illinois attended the 2023 international Magnet Conference where this incredible achievement was recognized among 13,000 nursing peers from 27 countries.
At the conference, UW Health nurses shared an impressive quality improvement project and gave two impactful presentations—one of them receiving a standing ovation—further demonstrating that UW Health nurses are true experts and international leaders.
Nailed it! Shared governance presentations wow audiences
As part of the educational sessions offered throughout the Magnet conference, UW Health shared two presentations that highlighted impressive elements of how UW Health got to where it is with its effective and evolving shared governance structure.
“Using Data to Optimize Shared Governance Structure and Culture” was presented by Sarah Brzozowski, PhD, MBA, BA, RN, NEA-BC, Director, Magnet & Nursing Excellence, and Pamela Blabaum, COTA, Nursing Program Coordinator-System Strategy. Sarah and Pam shared how essential is it to leverage shared governance in today’s work environment, by bringing direct care nurses and leaders together to make decisions and drive outcomes. In addition, they showed how UW Health has optimized its shared governance council structure to enhance the confidence and influence of nurses throughout our organization.
“Structural Empowerment through Nursing Unit Councils”was presented by Mark Ravis, BA, RN, PMH-BC, MDiv, Care Team Leader, Inpatient Psychiatry, and Sarah Brzozowski, who touched on the nursing shared governance structure at UW Health, the need to optimize unit councils, how to tackle improvements and opportunities from multiples angles, as well as outcomes and next steps.
Both presentations were extremely well-received with nurses from across the nation and world, asking multiple questions after each session. One nurse who attended the Structural Empowerment through Nursing Unit Councils presentation felt compelled to share some positive feedback, stating:
“You guys rocked this presentation. This is the best session I’ve attended. Your work is really impressive.”
In addition, the founder of the shared governance accrediting body The Forum for Shared Governance, Dr. Robert Hess, was in attendance at the conference promoting the book he co-authored with Dr. Diana Swihart titled “Shared Professional Governance: A Practical Approach to Transforming Interprofessional Healthcare,” which includes a contribution from UW Health authored by Sarah Brzozowski and Mark Ravis, who shared important work that was done at UW Health on assessing the health of our councils (chapter 7). This is just another example that shows UW Health is doing amazing work in the shared governance arena!
Demonstrating quality improvement through mentorship
Nursing colleagues from the General Internal Medicine Unit (F6/5) at University Hospital shared their quality improvement project—“MASKing During the Pandemic: Mentoring and Sharing Knowledge”—that was designed to foster a culture of mutual support and growth among registered nurses (RNs) and nursing assistants (NAs) through the creation of a mentorship program called MASK (Mentoring and Sharing Knowledge). Through this innovative work, the unit paired RNs and NAs during the six-month program that resulted in improved NA skills and knowledge, maximized teamwork, increased job satisfaction and enhanced employee engagement.
Demonstrating quality improvement through mentorship
Nursing colleagues from the General Internal Medicine Unit (F6/5) at University Hospital shared their quality improvement project—“MASKing During the Pandemic: Mentoring and Sharing Knowledge”—that was designed to foster a culture of mutual support and growth among registered nurses (RNs) and nursing assistants (NAs) through the creation of a mentorship program called MASK (Mentoring and Sharing Knowledge). Through this innovative work, the unit paired RNs and NAs during the six-month program that resulted in improved NA skills and knowledge, maximized teamwork, increased job satisfaction and enhanced employee engagement.
