SJH becomes first in Ireland to receive prestigious ‘Pathway to Excellence’ designation from the ANCC

St James’s Hospital (SJH), Dublin, has become the first on the island of Ireland to be awarded a prestigious accreditation from the American Nurses Credentialing Centre (ANCC). The international ‘Pathway to Excellence’ designation recognises healthcare organisations that demonstrate a commitment to establishing and sustaining a positive practice environment for the nursing team.

Sharon Slattery, Director of Nursing, SJH, said: “As we work towards becoming an academic health science campus, achieving Pathway to Excellence designation is a pivotal milestone. It significantly enhances staff retention by creating a supportive environment where nurses feel valued and engaged, promotes continuous professional development, and prepares SJH nurses for future leadership roles.

This designation also underscores our commitment to providing exceptional care and positions us to lead in shaping national healthcare policies.”

Nursing colleagues across all grades were involved in writing the required document submission for the ANCC, with nurses also taking part in a validation survey as part of the process. There were 88 elements to the written submission, under six main headings: Leadership, professional development, shared decision-making, quality, safety, and wellbeing.

As part of the designation process, SJH had to demonstrate how advanced practice through nurse-led initiatives contributed to improved patient care and outcomes. An example of this was provided by Lorraine Dolan, tuberculosis (TB) candidate Advanced Nurse Practitioner, who introduced video observation therapy (VOT) for TB patients at the hospital.

For patients who are diagnosed with TB, it is necessary to take antibiotics every day for six months to cure the disease. Many patients are required to undertake direct observation therapy, a process whereby they must attend a public health nurse and take the medication in their presence.

This is time consuming for the patient and the public health nurse. Under VOT, patients take a video of themselves taking the medication and send it to the nurse specialist through an app.

Ms Dolan said: “This is not only much more convenient and efficient for patients; it also helps in terms of reducing costs related to travel and means they don’t have to take time off work. It also takes a task off the desk of already very busy public health nurses. After a two-year trial, we know that for every 50 patients using VOT, it saves the health service €300,000 in costs. We are now trying to roll this out across the country for all TB patients.”

Authors