MUSC Health orthopedic nursing unit honored

For the first time, the National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses (NAON) decided this year to honor a nursing unit with its newly created Orthopaedic Nursing Excellence (ONE) Award. And its very first honoree? The 10East Orthopedics unit at MUSC Health. 

Nurse manager Sandra Fox, R.N., said her decision to compete for the award was quite simple – she knew the team was good enough to win.

The award considers a number of factors, including staff satisfaction and retention, staff certification, staff to patient ratio, leadership and learning opportunities, positive patient outcome measures, participation in national quality initiatives, collaboration, a supportive work environment and outside recognition.

Mickey Haryanto, R.N., joint replacement program manager who has also served as a past president of NAON, said the award reflects all the unit does and shows the expertise and excellence that patients experience. She noted that MUSC Health has received the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for hip, knee and shoulder joint replacement.

“The ONE Award Task Force was impressed with MUSC’s dedication to quality patient outcomes through interprofessional communication and teamwork that brings evidence-based practice to the bedside. The level of collaboration with nursing leadership through shared governance, recognition of nursing accomplishments, fostering a healthy work environment and the expectation for nurses to attain Orthopaedic Nursing Board Certification were outstanding,” said Jack Davis, NAON immediate past president.

Fox detailed some of those metrics. For example, 58% of the R.N.s on the unit are orthopedic certified, meaning they have at least 1,000 hours of experience on an orthopedic unit and have passed the board certification exam. Three-quarters of the unit’s two dozen nurses have more than two years of experience in orthopedics.

Haryanto said leadership’s recognition of nurses, including internal awards like the hospitalwide DAISY award and the Orthopedic unit’s monthly peer recognition Golden Bone award, as well as a focus on work-life balance for nurses, were also important factors in the award.