Karen Allen, RN, Ph.D., FAAN (Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing), was recently selected by the American Nurses Association Credentialing Center’s Commission on the Magnet Recognition Program to be a Magnet Status appraiser. Magnet Status is considered the gold standard for quality nursing care sought by many health care organizations.

The Commission on Magnet Recognition Program has been in existence since the 1980s and was developed to recognize health care organizations that provide excellence in nursing and patient care. Based on quality indicators and standards of nursing practice, Magnet Recognition provides consumers with the ultimate benchmark to measure the quality of care they can expect to receive.

Allen will be a member of one of the teams visiting Magnet Status applicants, appraising health care system operations against a number of stringent criteria. Qualifications for Magnet Status appraisers include significant achievement in areas such as professional nursing practice, leadership, research and data management, team-building and development skills, verbal and written communication skills, project management, and program evaluation.

Allen is chair of the nursing department at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Mich. She is a member of the Niles (Mich.) Philadelphia Church and the Lake Region Conference executive committee.

Debbie Young, Lake Region Conference correspondent