On the Job Hunt

LYNNE JETER

On the Job Hunt | University of Mississippi Medical Center, UMMC, UMHC, Janet Harris, Susan Pastor, Baptist Hospital, Baptist Health Systems, Nursing Professionals

Janet Harris, University of Mississippi Health Care Chief Nursing Officer

Nursing Professionals Lists UMMC among "2009 Top Hospitals to Work For"

In its inaugural spring 2009 issue, Nursing Professionals magazine reveals that the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) has been named one of the "2009 Top Hospitals to Work For." It was the only healthcare institution in Mississippi to make the list.

The news didn't surprise Janet Harris, chief nursing officer at University of Mississippi Health Care, UMMC's hospitals and clinics.

"Our focus has been on setting new standards of excellence for patients, family, and staff and doing whatever it takes to provide exemplary care," said Harris, who left home in Louisville at 17 to pursue a nursing degree at UMMC, and has long advocated nursing retention efforts as a way to provide the best nursing care possible.

Nursing Professionals' "Top 100" list is based on a survey of 25,000 randomly selected hospital nurses across the nation, which measured job satisfaction based on questions such as: how well does your hospital manage personal training and development?

Strong job satisfaction among the nursing staff is attributed not only to retention efforts, but also to nurse engagement. Last year, UMMC introduced a shared governance model intended to give nurses more of a decision-making role in nursing practices. As a part of the program, 118 staff nurses were elected to serve as representatives on governing councils and sub-councils.

"Our model of nursing shared governance illustrates how we involve our staff in all aspects of nursing," said Susan Pastor, chief nursing officer for the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children.

An Extra Smile

Harris, who was named one of Mississippi's 50 Leading Business Women in 2006, has played a key role boosting UMMC's nursing program to national prominence since her return to the state medical hospital in January 2007. After all, going the extra mile is what influenced her to become a nurse in the first place.

"My older sister, Patricia, was 11 when I was born," explained Harris. "She had suffered from polio as a child and had been told that she would never walk again. The doctors in Memphis were amazed a couple of years later when she did, in fact, walk unassisted back into the clinic. My mother always declared that my sister walked again because of the warm baths and leg massages that she gave her every night."

After college, Harris began her nursing career as a graduate nurse in the cardiovascular recovery area at Baptist Hospital in Jackson, and returned to serve Baptist Health Systems as nursing director from 1985 to 1996.

Ironically, a significant leadership challenge for Harris occurred when she was a young associate hospital director of nursing at UMMC. After the school signed a contract with HCA, a for-profit management company whose goal was to move the bottom line from red to black, Harris received a mandate from the CEO: "eliminate 250 nursing positions, and don't give me the lowest salaried ones."

"I was devastated," she recalled, adding that she was given a two-week deadline. "After many sleepless nights, I decided that I couldn't eliminate any of the nurses who provided direct patient care. That meant that many of the supporting positions such as educational ones would have to be on the list. I worked with directors of departments and developed the 'downsizing' list and pink slip notices were given."

A New Canvas

Last year, 419 nurses joined the UMMC staff, including 185 graduating nurses. To ensure proper training, UMHC's Student Externship Program prepares nursing students for the rigors of the hospital. The program provides them with valuable experience by giving them the opportunity to work in a real clinical setting under the guidance of a registered nurse.

To maintain nurse satisfaction on the job, UMMC routinely hosts forums that provide leaders with instant feedback on workplace issues. Collaboration with the School of Nursing plays an essential role in fostering a successful nursing environment. For example, a cooperative management skills venture UMMC implemented last year has facilitated an increased "overlapping" between nursing services and the School of Nursing. Also, as a result of the Leading through Applied Management Principles (LAMP) program, which builds management skills for nursing leaders to provide better support for patients and staff, the turnover rate among nursing managers participating in the program dropped to 2.7 percent.

"The bottom line is involvement of the nursing staff," said Harris. "It's listening to what they have to say and responding appropriately to issues that affect their practice."