One impetus for hospitals to give increased voice to nursing and nursing leadership has been the development and expansion of the Magnet accreditation program. Magnet hospitals are those recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for recruiting and keeping nurses while providing high-quality care to patients. The framework for the Magnet appraisal process consists of fourteen characteristics, including (1) strong nursing representation in the organizational committee structure; (2) nurse leadership that is part of the hospital’s executive leadership; (3) a functioning system of shared governance in nursing; (4) empowerment of nurses at all levels of the hospital, with nurses able to effectively influence system processes; and (5) collegial working relationships among disciplines