Applicants applying as a system must meet each of the following requirements in addition to the requirements for individual organizations.

Transformational Leadership

• There must be one organizational mission, vision, and set of values for the entire system.
• There must be one chief executive officer for the entire system.
• There must be one governing board for the entire system.
• The same shared leadership/participative decision-making mechanism must be operationalized throughout the entire system.
• There must be one chief nursing officer (CNO) for the entire system.
• Each component entity shall have a designated RN executive leader who:
               -   Is prominently responsible for nursing service at that entity;
               -   Has detailed knowledge and control over the day-to-day operations of the clinical
                   practice of nursing within that entity; and
               -   Meets the CNO educational requirements.

Organizational Structure

• There must be an established nursing council/committee in which representatives from all component entities participate in shared decision-making and developing strategy for system-wide nursing initiatives.
• The component entities must demonstrate how nurses participate in shared decision-making.

Structural Empowerment

• The same educational opportunities, to include orientation, certification, clinical ladders, and financial support in budget, must exist across the entire system.
• There must be an integrated nursing education department serving the entire system.
• There must be an established system-wide patient and family education committee.
• The same support for nursing research, to include personnel and finance, must exist throughout the entire system.
• There must be system-wide nursing participation in a community advisory committee.
• There must be system-wide nursing participation in community-sponsored events.
• There must be system-wide marketing and integration of publications that are promoted to the community and nursing staff.

Exemplary Professional Practice

• The same mission, vision, and values must be used throughout the system.
• The same performance appraisals must be used throughout the system.
• The same pay practices must be used throughout the system.
• The same policies and procedures must be used throughout the system.
• The same policies supporting career development and advancement must be used throughout the system.
• The same credentialing and privileging process for advanced-practice nurses must exist throughout the entire system.
• The same clinical documentation system(s) must be used throughout the system to support integration of evidence-based practice into clinical and operational processes.
• The same policies and procedures governing interdisciplinary relationships must be applied across the entire system.
• The same performance improvement methodology/structure must exist throughout the entire system.

Knowledge Improvement

• The same clinical documentation system(s) must be used throughout the system to support integration of research into clinical and operational processes. 

Application

A single application will be submitted for the system.

Written Documentation

Each component entity, a stand-alone group that is part of a multihospital or diversified single hospital system, must submit written documentation addressing each required source of evidence with examples occurring within that entity. For the purposes of the Magnet Recognition Program, the number of component entities within a system is equal to the number of designated RN executive leaders who are responsible for separate stand-alone groups within that system. This evidence must stand alone to demonstrate the full implementation of the Scope and Standards for Nurse Administrators (American Nurses Association, 2004) and the existence of a Magnet environment for nurses in the workplace. The documents and exhibits compiled to demonstrate compliance with the system eligibility requirements must be included in the written documentation submitted by each component entity. A separate DIF must be completed for each component entity.

Site Visit

Each component entity whose written documentation is scored within the range of excellence will receive a site visit by the team of appraisers who reviewed those written documents. The Magnet requirements must be fully evident across each component entity and at every level of each component entity.

System Recognition

If a healthcare organization with multiple entities opts to apply for Magnet recognition as a system and if any component entity fails to meet Magnet requirements, the system will not be designated as Magnet.

Biennial Monitoring

Each component entity must complete interim monitoring requirements with evidence specific to that entity. If during the period of recognition any component entity ceases to meet Magnet requirements as determined as a result of investigation by the Commission on Magnet Recognition (COM), the system loses Magnet recognition.