VA is supporting the achievement of Magnet^® designation at all VA facilities. The Magnet Recognition Program recognizes quality patient care and nursing excellence, providing customers with the ultimate benchmark to measure the quality of care they can expect to receive. Monthly conference calls across VA are conducted to share best practices, and a Magnet designation toolkit is available to assist local facilities.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is at the forefront of the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) movement. At VA, CNL's serve as the point person on patient care teams, and are leaders in the health care delivery system across all VA settings. This revolutionary role is providing an increasingly positive impact on patient care outcomes, and professional career satisfaction for many staff nurses. And in an effort to strengthen our support of the program, VA also supports nurses pursuing advanced degrees in this specialty by offering scholarship opportunities.

VA has embraced Magnet principles across all sites of care and is supporting the achievement of Magnet designation at all VA facilities


This campaign consists of implementing multiple evidence-based practice initiatives including developing targeted nursing interventions to prevent pressure ulcers, implementing rapid response teams, as well as reducing ventilator associated pneumonia, blood borne infections due to central lines, and surgical site infections


VA ICU clinicians and nurse executives are partnering with IT professionals to conduct a study that creates benchmarks for risk-adjusted mortality rates, and length of stay rates for ICU patients based on a three-year database. An early finding suggests better patient outcomes in units where evidence-based practice guidelines were utilized


A VA interdisciplinary care team, along with the National Center for Patient Safety and the Surgical Strategic Health Care Group of Patient Care Services, works together to identify standardized protocols for methodical tracking of Operating Room materials to prevent retained foreign objects


VA staff members are encouraged to report near miss and adverse events to help identify issues or processes that need to be addressed


This national database consists of clinically relevant, nursing-sensitive quality indicators to support strategic decision making through internal and external benchmarking for all care areas


This is a top VA initiative that focuses on preventing musculoskeletal injuries to patient care staff members


VA is committed to monitoring/preventing direct care RNs from working hours that exceed 12 consecutive hours in one shift or 60 hours in any 7-day period, except in the case of nurses providing emergency care