Crafting a strong nursing mission statement for your facility

Trust. Distinction. Guiding principles.

Your nursing team has a mission and deserves a statement. The mission statement clarifies and strengthens that mission, keeping your staff aligned.

In this article, you’ll learn how to write a strong nurse mission statement.

Why write a nursing mission statement?

A clear, high-minded mission statement unites the team around deep-rooted values and guides decision-making for the team, the organization, and the public. 

Make it clear and strong because it can make a difference:

• For the nurses: A guiding principle on the team and the organization
• For the patients: A source of trust and shared values
• For the public: A tool to see which healthcare team they choose for work or for care.

An authentic and powerful mission statement strengthens institutional capacity to excel in safety, patient-centered care and quality outcomes. It therefore complies with key standards such as those observed by the Joint Commission and CMS. 

A well-crafted mission statement helps champion these principles in everyday nursing practice.

What are the components of a nursing mission statement?

A mission statement includes certain elements, concerning who you are, what you do, your fundamental purpose, and who you serve. 

In a few concise phrases, it covers these key points:

• Name of the department, team, or organization
• Principles or values that are foundational or defining for the character and purpose of the department
• Major activities or what you do
• The fundamental purpose of the team or department
• Who the team serves

This mission statement structure helps avoid including unnecessary points.

Here are three mission statement examples.

Cedars-Sinai Nursing

Cedars‑Sinai Nursing is committed to leadership and excellence in delivering high‑quality, compassionate, value-added, person-centered care. Continuous education and science are fundamental to improving our practice and enhancing our work environment.

Bridgeport Hospital Department of Nursing

The Department of Nursing at Bridgeport Hospital exists to provide safe, comprehensive, quality patient- and family-centered care. Nurses are cognizant of their own hierarchy of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs, awareness of self-care practice, and that of the collaborative team around them. Bridgeport Hospital nurses are aware of the ever-changing healthcare environment, updating and developing new services to meet the changes in patients’ needs in a collaborative, competent, caring, and cost-effective manner.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC)

To build on a legacy of excellence by caring with compassion, advancing the art and science of nursing, and advocating for the health of patients, families, and communities. Professional values: compassion, excellence, accountability, respect, collaboration.

Which feels stronger to you? Is one easier to remember than the others? Which one has the power to rally the nursing department around their mission?

Nursing department mission statement template

To help you get started, here is a simple template for a nursing department’s mission statement. This template provides a basic structure for your mission statement, although you may want to adapt the statement to suit your department more effectively.

[Name of organization or department] delivers [one-three qualities/values] care, in pursuit of [purpose of department]. Mutual support on the team [strong action verb] the capacity to [main activities] for [all involved, such as team members, patients, families, and the community].

A hypothetical mission statement for the nursing department in a long-term care facility, based on this template, could be as follows:

The Towering Trees Home nursing department delivers compassionate, respectful, and personalized care in pursuit of optimizing the quality of life for our residents. Mutual support on the team strengthens the capacity to provide exceptional comfort, dignity, and company for residents, communication with families, and education for the community.

For a medical center nursing team, a mission statement could be something like this:

Mom's Medical Center Nursing Department delivers compassionate, expert, patient-centered care, pursuing the health and well-being of patients across the lifespan. Mutual support on the team strengthens the capacity to deliver specialized pediatric and geriatric care and engage families as partners in treatment plans.

The following are suggestions of values, verbs, and activities often considered meaningful or major in nursing. The values can be adapted to describe the care, the purpose, or the activities.

These are not exhaustive or exclusive lists—just a few to use as a starting point.

• Values or qualities: compassion, trustworthiness, empathy, truthfulness, respect, dignity, excellence, collaboration, and integrity
• Activities: patient care, advocacy, education, and communication
• Action verbs: build, develop, strengthen, consolidate, or vitalize

You can freely change the order, but the best examples of nursing mission statements include the elements mentioned. You can also opt to include additional values or activities in the form of a list added to the statement.

How to craft an effective mission statement with your team

To put heart into the statement, you need to reach into the hearts and minds of your team. 

A department’s mission and vision form the basis for strategic planning and are an element of shared governance. 

When creating your mission statement, part of the process often includes the vision statement and a plan with goals and objectives for the next period. 

In general, you can follow these five steps.

1. Meet with key stakeholders

Involve your nurses and nurse leaders, and perhaps everyone working in the department.

Empower employees by creating mission statements while encouraging open communication, engagement in decision-making, and professional autonomy.

2. Define the shared values 

You can start with a group dynamic where each person mentions a value they would like to nurture in the department. 

To break the ice, you can ask each one to mention a value they would have liked to have had embroidered or stamped on their baby clothes. The idea is that this would have influenced their character growing up. Then you can form groups and ask each group to prioritize three values or principles they consider essential for the department. 

Each group should present briefly, and then you can compile a short list of shared values.

3. Brainstorm the purpose

Ask the question “Why do we (the department) exist?”, and write down what your team says. You may be surprised by the insight you gain here. This sets you up to create a list of the major activities your department performs.

4. Compose the mission statement 

With a smaller group representing the stakeholders, write your mission statement. You may have several drafts. Work on keeping it concise, compelling, and patient-centered.

5. Seek feedback 

Seek feedback from the participants and revise to ensure clarity, relevance, and alignment with both nursing and organizational priorities and principles.

6. Make it official

Formally approve the mission statement, announce it, and use it widely in materials, presentations, and conversations.

7. Update it

Make sure your mission statement remains true to your organization over time. Review and update the mission statement periodically.

Pitfalls to avoid

Creating a mission statement is a meaningful process, but to capture and convey its meaning, it’s important to avoid the following pitfalls.

• Lack of authenticity is the deadliest pitfall. Take the time to create the mission statement with the team and all those working in the department. Their input is experience-based and authentic, and will lead to a statement that resonates with those who see or hear it.
• Too long makes it hard to remember.
• Too vague loses the distinction and the uniqueness, and it might be a statement for any nursing team.

Remember, the purpose of a nursing mission statement involves unity, engagement, and values that support safety, excellence, improved patient outcomes, and patient-centered care. 

It’s worth the time and effort.

Tips to maximize the impact of your mission statement

Try these tips to make a maximum impact with your mission statement.

Check coherency

Compare your nursing mission statement with the facility's mission statement and the principles of the broader organization. Make sure they are coherent.

Announce and launch the statement

Share the statement in meetings, posters, and conversations, with sincere gratitude for all who participated, as well as inspiring expectations. Your conviction in the mission will show.

Discover the impact

Measure team metrics before creating the mission statement and after announcing and socializing the mission statement to detect and optimize the impact. 

Metrics may include the staff’s perception of alignment with the values and principles, patient and family satisfaction scores related to nursing, response time, or other indicators.

What is Nursa’s mission?

Nursa also has a powerful mission statement, and puts it into practice every day to effectively serve the healthcare world.

“Nursa is a nationwide platform that exists to put a nurse at the bedside of every patient in need quickly and safely, removing the financial strain and operational gaps of traditional staffing methods.”

Make the most of your nursing mission statement by engaging and empowering your staff throughout the process.

Do you need to fill staffing gaps or easily cover call outs? Learn more about how Nursa helps healthcare facilities with finding high-quality, per diem talent.

Sources:

• PMC: Learn from the best hospitals: a comparison of the mission, vision, and values
• Cedars Sinai: Who we are
• YaleNewHavenHealth Bridgeport Hospital: Nursing vision, mission, and values
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: Nursing mission and professional practice model
• Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center: How to write an effective mission statement