Listen to this article.
Voiced by Amazon Polly

In many professions, it’s nice to have a manager recognize an employee doing a good job; maybe it’ll result in a bigger customer purchase or additional sales. In nursing, we’re learning that pride in the workforce can actually result in something extraordinary — improved patient care, especially during a time of enormous stress and challenges.

Mary Cataudella, the chief human resources officer at Jersey City Medical Center (JCMC), recently explained that her staff’s participation in a workplace recognition program has led to improved quality scores and more patient engagement, all of which have created better patient care. JCMC’s WorkProud initiative includes a focus on strategies and tactics which recognize patient safety and harm reduction as integral to success. For instance, her hospital’s Serious Safety Event Rate has decreased from 3.49 to 2.31 (34%) during the past 18 months since the program began.

Over 65% of the JCMC staff is participating in the recognition effort, with almost all (98%) managers taking part. The hospital has seen 6,000 peer-to-peer recognitions occur and managers have caught their employees “doing something right” over 8,000 times. Cataudella believes this current digital approach is better than the previous employee of the month campaign because the new way is more immediate and recognition is wider spread. The hospital recognition program also complements and supports JCMC’s Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence, the highest honor bestowed for nursing care. It’s also resulting in an improvement in nursing engagement: 16 units/settings are now above the national averages in autonomy and 12 units/settings outperformed in at least six of the applicable Magnet Recognition Program categories, well above its standard requirement.

See also
Study: Introducing Telehealth in Nursing Homes Reduced Stress Among Residents

People are attracted to nursing for a variety of reasons; most have an innate desire to help fellow human beings. Nurses offer hope, compassion and support for patients, oftentimes during the worst and most intense point of their lives. It’s not surprising that nurses find great satisfaction and reward when their work makes a difference in the lives of their patients. When a patient says, “Thank you for caring for me,” it reaches nurses’ souls.

Iris Journal of Nursing & Care asked registered nurses about the overall shared values in their work; the answers were ranked as follows:

1.     I am proud to tell people what institution I am working at

2.     I share the values and beliefs of this hospital

3.     People working here are encouraged to develop themselves

4.     Managers here are understanding about employees having to meet family responsibilities

Additional insights are found in the WorkProud study “How Pride Drives Business Value for Organizations,” which includes a survey that found company culture greatly influences workplace pride. The factor analysis showed that 18 separate items predicted culture and included such diverse ideas as generating high trust and respect for leadership; having a strong mission, vision and values; maintaining a positive reputation for ethics; consistently displaying considerate treatment of employees; and having a high profile for contributions to social, environmental and governance causes.

These are the elements that JCMC has in place at the same time it’s seen a reduction in Falls with Injury; Hospital Acquired Pressure Injury; Central Line-Associated Blood Stream Infection; and Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection.

In my career, I’ve seen nurses’ intrinsic drive to help fellow humans when they’re in their most vulnerable state. Generally, nurses are resilient and blessed with a great ability to self-motivate. Research shows that transforming that intrinsic drive into pride is a powerful tool in retaining employees; they’re up to 24 times more likely to stay in their jobs if they have high company pride. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has tested and challenged nurses with a unique intensity that has had an impact on the entire profession.

See also
7 Areas Where Hospitals Must Sharpen Focus on Patient Safety

This makes it more important than ever that we support, grow, and recognize our nurses – and when nurses benefit, so do patients.

Zach Lipner
Latest posts by Zach Lipner (see all)
Share This