Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence

The Department of Nursing at Mayo Clinic in Rochester received Magnet status redesignation for "Excellence in Nursing Service." A Magnet status recipient since 1997, Mayo Clinic is one of the few health care organizations in Minnesota to receive this prestigious award.

The Magnet award is the highest level of recognition the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) accords to organized nursing services. The award recognizes health-care organizations exhibiting the following:

• excellence in nursing services to patients
• existence of an environment that supports professional nursing practice
• growth and development of nursing staff

Magnet institutions act as "magnets" by attracting and retaining outstanding nurses and creating a work environment that recognizes and rewards professional nursing. The baseline for the Magnet program is the Scope and Standards of Nurse Administrators (ANA, 2003).