title: The Department of Veterans Health Administration Office of Nursing Service, "transforming nursing in a national healthcare system: an example of transformation in action".
abstract: The Department of Veterans Health Administration Office of Nursing Service has embarked on a multiyear transformational process, an example of which is the development of an organization-wide nursing handbook. The development of this handbook offered the opportunity to improve collaboration, redefine expectations and behavior, as well as prepare for the future of Nursing within the Veterans Health Administration. The lessons learned from this process have revolved around the themes of leadership skills for managing high-level change often in a virtual environment; constant collaboration; that the practice of nursing will continue to evolve on the basis of new evidence, technology, customer expectations, and resources; and that the process to accomplish this goal is powerful.
authors.affiliation: Patient Care Services, John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Sydney.Wertenberger@va.gov
authors.forename: Sydney
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wertenberger
authors.forename: Kathleen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.forename: Salena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wright-Brown
mesh_terms: D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008370:Manuals as Topic; D009729:Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D009738:Nursing Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs / Q000458:organization & administration*