Nursing

Inside best practice: Setting up a CNO blog

HCPro's Weekly Update on the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®*, April 26, 2010

When St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital set up up a blog for the hospital’s CNO, it was quick and simple—St.Vincent had the blog up and running in less than a day with the help of the organization’s IT department. It was so convenient; in fact, it led to one of the first lessons of setting up a blog: have a communication plan in place.

“One thing we realized—and it’s still a pretty new blog—is that if you don’t keep the posts current, people stop going to the site,” says Sallie Latty, MA, BSN, RN, MRP coordinator at St. Vincent.

And given how busy every CNO is, finding time to write blog posts on a regular basis can be tough. Though they may not take much time, blog posts require thought. “In hindsight, because the idea surfaced quickly and there was so much excitement, we didn’t spend much time planning what the process would be, what the purpose would be for the blog,” says Latty.

Latty suggests spending some time with all parties involved in conceiving, planning, and maintaining the blog to have a plan and goal in mind before implementing it.

“Do that up front,” says Latty. “Two questions we encountered later were: Do people know about it? And what is our plan for keeping it current?”

Source: This excerpt is from the April issue of HCPro’s Advisor to the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®. Don’t have a subscription? Take a look at the benefits of becoming a member of HCPro’s Resource Center for the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®.

Most Popular