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The UVAHS Professional Nursing Staff Organization PNSO Membership Communications |
Effective communication is essential to the health of a shared governance organization. The PNSO utilizes a broad variety of strategies in order to facilitate communication with the PNSO membership. These strategies are coordinated through the PNSO Support Office by the appointed Communications Officer, who chairs the Communications Committee; this body serves as an advisory board guiding the best ways to exchange information and feedback with our nursing constituency.
Communication Strategies
Interpersonal Relations - At UVAHS, we follow a Relationship-Based Model of Patient Care, and relationships are also key to ensuring communication between PNSO leaders and members. Nursing leaders at all levels are engaged in exchanging information and following through on improvement feedback, whether their role is operational leadership (Dr. Cipriano, CNO/CCO; Nurse Administrators and Nurse Managers; Advanced Practice Nurses), elected/appointed representatives or committee volunteers (PNSO President and President-elect; Nursing Cabinet; Congress Delegates; Magnet Champions; Clinical Practice Committee and Local Practice Chairs; Nursing Educational Coordinators).
The PNSO Website offers a wealth of electronic resources through both internet and employee-only intranet sites designed for UVA nurses; it also serves as a gateway to interdisciplinary Health System sites, the broader University community, and World-Wide Web resources.
Nursing-Specific Emails - Implementing a suggestion from Nursing Congress, UVA nurses can recognize nursing-specific emails that come from the PNSO; they can triage the level of importance using the subject line's consistent priority scheme, which indicates, for instance, mandatory practice changes or time-sensitive tasks. The PNSO Support Office maintains email distribution lists that reach all UVA RNs, as well as targeted populations of nurses and PNSO committees. The email traffic doesn't flow solely from office to members -- direct care nurses use these lists to email practice queries and improvement ideas to their colleagues, or request assistance from the PNSO Support Office in advertising opportunities more broadly.
Nursing-Related Publications - The PNSO sponsors a variety of nursing-related publications throughout the year. Generally, publications are provided to every RN in printed format as well as made available electronically via the website. The PNSO Annual Report celebrates the accomplishments of individual UVA nurses (e.g., presentations, publications, certifications, degrees, and career ladder advancements) as well as the outcomes of Nursing Cabinet-sponsored initiatives on behalf of the PNSO membership. The Professional Nursing Quarterly newsletter offers articles on individual achievements and updates on PNSO shared governance, research, and professional development considerations. Important nursing practice-related changes and areas of quality focus are shared monthly by email and web-posting in the Practice News, produced by the Clinical Practice Committee; the CPC's subcommittees also periodically produce new UVA-specific nursing procedures for our Adult Acute Care, Critical Care, and Pediatric Care Nursing Procedure Manuals.
PNSO-Sponsored Events - Staff meetings, Membership Assemblies, Nursing Cabinet, Nursing Grand Rounds, and Week of the Nurse celebrations, as well as targeted events such as Leadership Forums and Nursing Congress, offer nursing staff many opportunities throughout the year to network with leaders across the organization, build mentoring relationships, and share ideas for improvement.
Nursing Worklife Survey - The professional and worklife satisfaction of the RN staff is regularly assessed using the Nursing Worklife Survey. The survey is conducted using a validated and reliable tool to measure key environmental and professional elements that affect patient care delivery and nursing worklife, including such elements as autonomy, nurse-physician relationships, resource adequacy, self-governance and organizational structure. Survey results are used to evaluate organizational changes, benchmark program outcomes, and identify growth areas. The voice of every RN can be heard through participation in this annual survey. In 2006, the PNSO is participating in the Nurse Satisfaction Survey from the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI). This transition to an external survey will strengthen our ability to benchmark nurse satisfaction.
Nursing-Related Displays - All UVAHS practice areas have nursing-related poster displays which are regularly updated by their local Magnet Champions. Displays of the latest UVA nursing news are available for both staff and public viewing near the elevators of both the main UVA Hospital and our West Complex/Multistory facility. The recipients of the PNSO's annual Nursing Excellence Awards are honored on a series of commemorative plaques in the main lobby as well. Seasonal recognition displays, such as the Showcase of Nursing Excellence, are also prominently placed for public viewing in the East Cafeteria Breezeway, Primary Care Center Link, and shared on CD-ROM with outlying facilities.
The 2007 PNSO Communications Committee
Mission: Serves as an advisory board to develop and implement a mullti-directional reporting and communication structure between Nursing Cabinet and the professional nursing staff at large.
2007 PNSO Interim Communications Officer: Maria Carlton, RN, MSN (Special Projects Manager, Office of the Chief Clinical Officer)
2007 PNSO Communications Chair: Walter Mason, MSN, RN, CS (Psychiatric Services/2007 PNSO President-Elect)
2007 Members: Jean Alley, Sharon Bragg, April Burns, Rick Carpenter, Gina DeGennaro, Nicole Henley, Catherine Kane, Mary Miller, Paige Nealy, Cynthia Sandridge, Patty Schweickert, Mary Beth Slagle, Cindy Westley, Malinda Whitlow