Engaging nurses to achieve a culture of excellence: a children’s hospital journey towards Pathway to Excellence accreditation
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Engaging nurses to achieve a culture of excellence: a children’s hospital journey towards Pathway to Excellence accreditation

Andrea Cronshaw Clinical nurse specialist (burns and plastics) and Pathway to Excellence project lead, Nottingham Children’s Hospital, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, England
Ellen Boddye Staff nurse, Nottingham Integrated Sexual Health Services, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, England
Lesley Reilly Divisional lead nurse, Nottingham Children’s Hospital, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, England
Rachel Boardman Deputy divisional lead nurse, Nottingham Children’s Hospital, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, England
Lee Portas Charge nurse, Nottingham Integrated Sexual Health Services, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, England
Janet Hagan Ward sister, Nottingham Children’s Hospital, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, England
Susan Griffiths Matron, Nottingham Integrated Sexual Health Services, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, England
Helen Donovan Ward manager, Nottingham Children’s Hospital, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, England
David Clark Lead for practice education and development, Nottingham Children’s Hospital, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, England
Lorraine Collins Sister, neonatal intensive care unit, Nottingham Children’s Hospital, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, England
Barbra Linley Matron, neonatal services, Nottingham Children’s Hospital, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, England
Sophie Salt Staff nurse, Nottingham Children’s Hospital; Sophia Wright, staff nurse, Nottingham Children’s Hospital, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, England
Mags Sheahan-Parry Clinical nurse specialist, Trent Regional Cleft Network, Nottingham Children’s Hospital, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, England
Joanne Cooper Assistant director of nursing, Institute of Nursing and Midwifery Care Excellence, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, England
Kerry Jones Magnet and Pathway to Excellence programme director, Institute of Nursing and Midwifery Care Excellence, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, England
Mandie Sunderland Chief nurse, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, England (retired)
Joseph Charles Manning Clinical associate professor, Nottingham Children’s Hospital, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, England
Takawira Chrispen Marufu Clinical academic nursing research lead, Nottingham Children’s Hospital, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To learn how accreditation can support organisations to develop excellence in nursing care

  • To understand how Nottingham Children’s Hospital obtained accreditation for its nursing care

  • To find ideas you can use to work towards accreditation for your organisation

High-quality nursing care is linked to improved patient experience and patient outcomes, so having work environments that nurture a culture of nursing excellence is fundamental to delivering high-quality patient care. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) runs the Pathway to Excellence programme, an international accreditation recognising healthcare organisations that provide nurses with a positive and safe practice environment in which they can excel. In 2020, Nottingham Children’s Hospital became the first children’s hospital in Europe to gain Pathway to Excellence accreditation, demonstrating that it has developed a culture of nursing excellence and a positive environment for nurses to work in. This article describes the hospital’s journey towards accreditation. Crucial to its success were strategic planning, transformational leadership and using a change management approach, as well as effective staff engagement guided by the ADKAR model for change, an acronym representing five individual outcomes in terms of awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement.

Nursing Management. doi: 10.7748/nm.2021.e1980

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

@nottmchildrens

Correspondence

andrea.cronshaw@nuh.nhs.uk

Conflict of interest

Joseph Charles Manning is a current recipient of an NIHR HEE funded ICA Clinical Lectureship. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. All authors conceptualised and designed the Pathway to Excellence project and were involved in its implementation, and contributed to the drafting, critical review and revision of the manuscript.

Cronshaw A, Boddye E, Reilly L et al (2021) Engaging nurses to achieve a culture of excellence: a children’s hospital journey towards Pathway to Excellence accreditation. Nursing Management. doi: 10.7748/nm.2021.e1980

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the nursing staff at Nottingham Children’s Hospital for their engagement, support and resilience to achieve and maintain Pathway to Excellence accreditation. The accreditation process was funded by the Nottingham Hospitals Charity.

Published online: 17 August 2021

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