Professional Practice at Inova Fair Oaks Hospital

Inova Fair Oaks Hospital Shared Governance

The IFOH Care Site Council meets monthly and is led by clinical nurses. This is council is the decision-making body where process improvement activities, practice changes, and other patient care, work environment, and professional practice objectives are discussed. These initiatives are then brought back and shared with our patient care units through established Unit-Practice Councils (UPCs). The UPC’s provide decision-making resources at the unit level encouraging all clinical nurses to participate in improving and developing their professional practice.

The sub councils at the care site include:

In 2020, many IFOH clinical nurses were part of the Inova Health System Shared Governance work group to evaluate current state of shared governance at Inova and review the literature for current best practices. Information flows from the care site council to the system council in shared decision making.

The development and restructuring of four IFOH Shared Governance Councils with Specific areas of focus:

2021 Shared Governance Highlight

• Reduced in hospital fall rate by 15%
• Contributed to the reduction of in-hospital mortality rates
• Achieved patient satisfaction scores of likelihood to recommend at 92%
• Achieved targets for nurses with BSN (current rate: 90%)
• Achieved targets for nationally certified registered nurse (current rate 47%)

Inova Nursing Professional Practice Model

• Shared Transformational Leadership (Decision Making, Empowerment, Autonomy, Accountability, Succession Planning, Innovation)
• Meaningful Recognition (ADVANCE Clinical ladder, Education Advancement, Professional Certifications, Award and Honors)
• Collaborative Relationships (Community, Inter and Intradisciplinary Collaboration, Effective Communication)
• Professional Vision and Value (Culture of Safety, Clinical Excellence, Work Life Balance, Appreciation of Diversity)
• Care Delivery System (Patient Focused, Respect of Patient and Family Preferences, Team Approach, Efficient)
• Evidence-Based Practice (Nurse-driven Research, Clinical Inquiry, Translate/Incorporate Findings into Practice, Evaluate Patient Outcomes)

Inova In-Patient Care Delivery Model

The Inova In-Patient Care Delivery Model is divided into three circles with the mission as the core.

Sustaining – The outer ring of the care delivery model represents our commitment to sustaining a culture of safety and innovation leading to optimal patient outcomes. We achieve this objective by using tools such as our safety huddles, visual management boards, Team STEPPS, and Lean Six Sigma.

Partnering – The middle ring of the care delivery model represents our commitment to involving the patient/family in the planning and delivery of care. The tools we use to achieve this objective are discharge planning, ISHAPED, hourly rounding, whiteboards and multidisciplinary rounds.

Caring – At the center of our care delivery system is our mission: to provide world-class healthcare – every time, every touch – to each person in every community we have the privilege to serve. We place the patient/family at the center of all we do. This philosophy is at the heart of nurses' accountability for patient care and clinical outcomes

Daisy Award

Meet a few of our nurses here at Inova Fair Oaks Hospital making a difference in the lives of our patients and healthcare.