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 (part of the role of the Director of Nursing Governance Programs); the Nursing Cabinet also 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 (CNO; Nurse Administrators, Directors and Nurse Managers), upper-level clinicians, elected/appointed representatives or committee volunteers (PNSO President and President-elect; Nursing Cabinet; Congress Delegates; Magnet Champions; Clinical Practice Committee and Local Practice Liaisons; 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 shared electronically, "going green" by reducing paper print-outs. 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. 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. Our Chief Nursing Officer continues a long-standing tradition of sharing news and celebrating individual nursing achievements in her NurseTalk video/newsletter, and in 2011 the PNSO President's discussion board "In The Loop" offers UVA nurses in all practice areas a new platform for shaping our shared governance model.
PNSO-Sponsored Events - Staff meetings, Membership Assemblies, Nursing Cabinet, 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 Satisfaction Survey - The professional and worklife satisfaction of the RN staff is regularly assessed using the Nursing Satisfaction 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. Currently the PNSO is participating in the Nurse Satisfaction Survey from the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) which strengthens our ability to benchmark nurse satisfaction.
Nursing-Related Displays - 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 facility.
