Effect of Joint Commission International Accreditation on the Nursing Work Environment in a Tertiary Medical Center.

How might a tertiary hospital's nursing staff respond to the huge improvement effort required for external accreditation if they are encouraged to lead the change process themselves? This article reports the results of a concurrent evaluation of the nursing work climate at ward level, before and after accreditation by the Joint Commission International. Physician-nurse relations improved; the involvement of social workers, dieticians, and physiotherapists increased; support services responded more quickly to requests; and management-line staff relations became closer.