Introduction
Developing a vision statement is probably one of the most important things an organization can do, right after identifying a philosophy that is true for all the organization's members. This statement of philosophy is reached by consensus, and is derived from individual ideas about nursing philosophy in general and how the individual perceives the organization and what is possible. A vision statement differs from a mission statement, a values statement, and statements in philosophy in several critical ways. A mission statement refers to the external (not individual) work that an organization does and relates that work to the larger society. An organization legitimizes itself based on the core values that the organization holds, and defines the philosophy, principles and value the organization holds. An organization's values are clear when one reads the organization's mission and vision statements (Current Nursing, 2013). A statement of philosophy is just that. It is an explanation of beliefs the organization has about how their mission is to be achieved. A statement of philosophy is a statement of the beliefs that guide the organization, beliefs and governing ideas (Current Nursing, 2013).
A vision statement, on the other, hand, while being about the organization just as the others, is more abstract and more oriented to the future. A vision statement is, in a sense, the organization's public face, and it projects that face into the future. They serve as a focal point for strategy planning, and are limited to a future of 5-10 years, at which time they can be revisited (Current Nursing, 2013).
A Vision Statement for the Nursing Profession
In the nursing profession, because it is so labor-intensive, it is easy to forget, when it’s really busy, and everyone has their own things to do, what the vision for the work is. Vision statements are, for the most part, designed to inspire other employees and patients, also. It basically reveals what the organization wishes and hopes to accomplish, generally, now and in the future (Tingum, 2016).
The University of Kentucky School of Healthcare (UK Healthcare, 2015) offers this vision statement for the schol: Leading the way for every patient, every time. Practice, patient care and scholarship. It really is that simple. Or here is another, from the Jupiter Medical Center (2016): To be the leading healthcare organization in the region, the employer of choice and the preferred partner of physicians. That's pretty simple, too. But it is very different from UK Healthcare's vision statement. UK Healthcare's vision statement is mostly about the patient (it was mentioned twice), while Jupiter Medical Center doesn't mention patient care or the patients even once. There, it is more about the community and its region. One sounds like it is a blurb for business and the local Chamber of Commerce, and the other sounds more like the kinds of things newbies to the profession of nursing would say. Is there anything wrong with either one of them? No, there isn't. Each was written with that organization's identified philosophy and values in mind. They are each different organizations. They each have different needs to be met, and different ways of expressing the future. One thing it is important to know, however, is that an organization that wishes to serve the community must have a vision that describes the community (both of the above vision statements fit that category) (Gottlieb, 2007).
A vision statement, then, would look something like this: Our vision is a community where patients are given the very best medical treatment. That's it. Notice how closely that aligns with UK Healthcare's vision statement. It is directly to the point. It doesn't harness anyone to a specific set of methodologies, but it does declare that patients are a priority, that advanced technology, if it doesn't hinder patient care, is not ruled out, that whatever it takes is what will be done. That's it.
Nursing Leadership
It does seem that if vision is to be accurate for organizations, then nurses will have to take the lead role in making it so. After all, organizational vision does not happen spontaneously. Nurses are the backbone and real strength of any medical organization, and that is who's vision should be reflected. Meliniotis (2015) speaks to this almost as if she is describing a vision statement: "A good nurse leader is someone who can inspire others to work together in pursuit of a common goal, such as enhanced patient care." She says further that there is a distinct set of traits or personal qualities that effective nurse leaders share, that among these traits or qualities is integrity and courage, among others. Integrity comes from the same root that makes the word "integrated," and that word means matching word with deed. A vision statement's purpose is to match the organization's words with its deeds, its identified, shared future with its words about that future. Another nurse leader trait is courage. It is hard being a leader, and not everyone can do it. It takes a certain amount of courage, to have a vision statement and stick to it, when others may prefer something else.
Edmonson (2010) writes about courage among nurse leaders. He talks about the idea of moral distress and how moral distress arises when there is a conflict between doing the right thing, the moral thing, but an organization either directly forbids it, or there is some kind of organizational constraint against it. In that case, the nurse leader should (has a responsibility to) demonstrate moral courage and expect it in others. Having a vision statement in place, however, lessens the chance of moral distress.
Nurses have to be able to practice nursing the way they were taught and continue to learn. It is important for several reasons, job satisfaction, for one thing, and the expected retention of good nurses that results. It is important to create a "culture of excellence" in which "a set of values and expectations to which all nurses subscribe and that influences practice behaviors" (Girard, Linton and Besner, 2005) can flourish. Part of building that culture of excellence is creating mission statements and a vision statement that will guide the nurses forward.
Conclusion
A vision statement does so much more than adorn walls. A vision statement clearly and unambiguously points to the future of the organization, without details as to methodologies, but developed according to the employees' philosophies and values. It reflects integrity, and what the orientation to the community will be. The vision statements of both the UK Healthcare and Jupiter Medical Center are instructive in this regard—there are not similarities in the "constituents" described in those statements, but both are about orientations to community, if healthcare patients can be described as a community.
So our vision statement--Our vision is a community where patients are given the very best medical treatment—meets the requirement. It is oriented to the community of people who may use medical services, now and in the future. And it remains to guide one when one needs to remember what the organization is about, what represents its public face for the foreseeable future. It can, if treated that way, be an inspiring message, and lead people in the right direction, as vision statements can do.
It has been interesting to have gone through this exercise with vision statements. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, and it's good to know the differences between mission statements, statements of philosophy, and vision statements.
References
Current Nursing. (2013). Mission, vision, values, objectives and philosophy of an organization. Retrieved from http://currentnursing.com/nursing_management/mission_vision_values_of_organizations.html#MISSION%20STATEMENTS
Edmonson, C., (Sept 30, 2010) "Moral Courage and the Nurse Leader" OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, Vol. 15, No. 3, Manuscript 5. DOI: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol15No03Man05
Girard, F., Linton, N. and Besner, J. (2005). Professional practice in nursing: A framework. Nursing Leadership, Vol. 18, No. 2. doi: 10.12927/cgnl.2005.1902
Gottlieb, H. (2007). 3 statements that can change the world: Mission/vision/values. Retrieved from http://help4nonprofits.com/NP_Bd_MissionVisionValues_Art.htm
Meliniotis, C. (2011). Effective nursing leadership. Advance Healthcare Network for Nurses. Retrieved from http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/Effective-Nursing-Leadership.aspx
Tingum, J. (2016). Examples of vision statements in the health care industry. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-vision-statements-health-care-industry-17637.html
UK Healthcare. (2015). Our nursing mission, vision, values and philosophy. The University of Kentucky. Retrieved from http://ukhealthcare.uky.edu/professionals/nursing/mission/
