Exemplary Professional Practice

Exemplifying the true essence of the Magnet model, UT Southwestern provides nurses with an environment that fosters excellence through continual learning and the development of transformational leaders. As an organization that values, recognizes, and encourages continuing education and professional certifications, UT Southwestern is dedicated to using these vital components to build our nurses' professional development and practice. As a leading academic medical center, we support our nurses in pushing past the status quo to create a new level of excellence. We continue to shine within our community, state, and nation by maintaining interdisciplinary relationships, professional autonomy, and resource-rich facilities and by having nurses serve as teachers and professional models of care.

Nursing Professional Practice Model at UTSW

Nurses at UT Southwestern provide the highest-quality patient care through the application of relationship-based care, which focuses on what matters most: caring and healing relationships at the point of care. Compassion, knowledge, and evidence-based care formulate the foundation for excellence and make a profound difference in the patient’s ability to recover and heal. The UT Southwestern Nursing Professional Practice Model is based on the belief that patients and families are at the center of everything we do and are our partners in care. Patients and families are honored as individuals and cared for with dignity and respect.

Our model provides a framework for achieving excellent clinical outcomes by allowing nurses to practice professionally. Through this framework, we put our vision into action. The model guides our decisions, supports the delivery of professional nursing care and quality outcomes, ensures consistency in nursing practice, and promotes a healthy environment for the delivery of care. The nurse-patient relationship is strengthened through a focus on continuity of care and interdisciplinary collaboration. Nurses at UT Southwestern are empowered through a shared governance structure to make decisions while building professional accountability. Nurses have a strong voice on issues impacting nurses. Our practice environment values, encourages, recognizes, and rewards innovation, creativity, and scholarly pursuit to improve patient care.

Nurse Satisfaction Survey

Research literature shows there is a vital connection between nursing satisfaction and optimal patient outcomes. When nurses find fulfillment in their work, they have higher levels of engagement and lower levels of turnover, and both organizational and patient outcomes are improved.

As a Magnet organization, UTSW strives to be above the benchmark in all areas of performance, including nurse satisfaction. The most recent standardized nurse satisfaction survey was conducted in 2021. Looking forward, the Glint RN satisfaction survey is set to be administered again to UTSW nurses in 2024.

In 2023, all nurses were invited to participate in the Values in Practice (VIP) engagement survey as UTSW employees. Overall, 77% of nurses responded to the survey which is an all-time high for UTSW and significantly above the benchmark for academic medical centers.

Community Involvement and Outreach

One of the most rewarding ways UT Southwestern nurses share their experience with the community is by sharing their skills, knowledge, and time as volunteers. From formal volunteer programs to impromptu acts of service, our nurses make a difference in the health and well-being of their local communities while also bettering themselves as nurses by offering their services and lending a hand. UT Southwestern encourages nurses to participate in many ways and through many local entities, putting their expertise into action and developing professionally through community involvement.

Geriatric Certification

Within the past three years, the Emergency Department (ED) at Clements University Hospital has grown exponentially. Patient visits to the ED have increased across the board, and because approximately 30% of those visits are now from geriatric patients, the ED needed to enhance its services to improve the care of older adults. Stakeholders included a team of nurses, physicians, and ancillary leaders who were deeply passionate about improving geriatric care in the ED.

The goal was to achieve a Level 1 Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) – something no other ED in Texas has yet done.

The accreditation process required fulfillment of approximately two dozen requirements and best practices related to providing quality care for geriatric patients, including enhanced staffing and education, implementation of geriatric-focused policies and procedures, continuous quality improvement, outcome measures, and ensuring the continuity of care for older adults. The interdisciplinary team used a collaborative approach, involving coordinated care and expertise among nursing, emergency medicine, care coordination, pharmacy, therapy, and operation stakeholders. Interventions associated with the GEDA application included increased RN education in areas such as abuse and neglect, increased screenings for patients with delirium and cognitive impairment, heightened fall prevention measures, and standardized assessments for function/functional decline with geriatric patients. Quality improvement was tracked and trended to ensure geriatric care focused on acute needs and other concerns that could lead to an increased risk for hospitalization.

The outcome of the work resulted in the ED at UTSW becoming the first accredited Level 1 Geriatric Emergency Department in Texas.

Midnight Huddle

The Nobl rounding platform helps capture real-time feedback from patients and staff and provides the leadership team with the insights to deliver service recovery and capture the voice of the employee. During one of the Nobl rounds on Aug. 11, 2023, Mary Ann Abrenica, RN, suggested that the night shift do a midnight huddle to help a co-worker who might be overwhelmed with an assignment. The idea was brought up to Sharon Le Roux, M.S.N., RN, OCN, the nurse manager of 11 Orange, who thought it was brilliant.

The initiative involved collaboration between 11 Orange nurses, patient care technicians, and the leadership team comprising Le Roux and assistant nurse managers. To implement the idea, the night shift created a midnight huddle during which all staff would go to the nurse station and provide updates on how each one was doing. If one person was too busy with a task, another nurse would help them. Patient care technicians were also included and would share their progress regarding their patients. Once everyone received the updates, any specific concerns and quick hits could be addressed.

As the midnight huddle continued to grow, other topics of discussion where staff could find support were included. An example of this included supporting new nurses in following skin pathway orders step by step. Hattab Al-Shudifat, B.S.N., RN, suggested providing education on commonly administered medications for oncology patients to refresh seasoned RNs' knowledge while reinforcing essential information for new RNs. Some lighthearted topics were eventually incorporated into midnight huddles, such as planning for holiday parties on the unit or providing celebration news. One highlight of the midnight huddle that has evolved is the 3- to 5-minute exercise sessions led by Sunmi Lee, B.S.N., RN, OCN, to promote employee well-being.

The following interprofessional groups collaborated on this initiative: 

• 11 Orange RNs and PCTs
• 11 Orange leadership team (ANMs + NM)

The midnight huddle is still a work in progress, but it has grown to bear the fruit of suggestions from staff. Sometimes, on days when the unit’s admissions rates are high, it becomes a challenge to complete the huddle in person. When the unit is too busy to meet in person, staff use 11 Orange secure chat messaging or Vocera chat to huddle virtually.

This initiative has promoted teamwork and camaraderie within 11 Orange, significantly bolstering staff morale, fostering inclusivity, and enhancing workflow efficiency.