Margaret D. Sovie

A distinguished nurse educator, administrator, researcher, policymaker, and writer, Margaret D. Sovie embodies the standards of excellence she continually pursued for nursing. She is recognized as an innovative leader whose major, positive influence on nursing continues after her passing in 2002.

Sovie’s seminal work in nursing excellence has forever changed how health care facilities support professional nursing practice. In a landmark study for the 1983 American Academy of Nursing’s Task Force on Nursing Practice in Hospitals, Sovie and her colleagues identified the characteristics of facilities that attracted and retained the best and brightest nurses. Defining 14 “Forces of Magnetism,” she and her colleagues established the framework for a program of nursing excellence. From this study evolved the Magnet Recognition Program® used by the American Nurses Credentialing Center today.

In 1954, Sovie received her diploma from the St. Lawrence State Hospital School of Nursing in New York. She earned advanced degrees from Syracuse University and forged a career marked by leadership in nursing administration and education. Significantly, she led two major academic hospitals as Chief Nursing Officer: the University of Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The Margaret D. Sovie Center for Advanced Practice at Strong Memorial honors her legacy as an advocate for nurse practitioners. A fearless researcher, she received national recognition for her study of the interrelationship of nursing acuity, diagnosis-related groups, and the economic delivery of health care.

Sovie directly advanced the practice of nursing with service on the New York State Board of Nursing from 1974-1984. She contributed as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, and as a member of American Nurses Association, New York State Nurses Association, and Sigma Theta Tau International. She was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 1987.

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Margaret graduated from the St. Lawrence State Hospital School of Nursing and earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from Syracuse University.

Margaret’s professional career in nursing administration consisted of positions as chief nursing officer at the University of Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She is perhaps most remembered for her landmark study for the 1983 American Academy of Nursing’s Task Force on Nursing Practice in Hospitals. She and her colleagues identified the characteristics of facilities that attracted and retained the best and brightest nurses, as well as established the framework for a program of nursing excellence. From this study evolved the Magnet Recognition Program, which is considered the highest recognition for nursing excellence and is used by the American Nurses Credentialing Center today.

A pioneer in combining the values of higher education, research and publication with nursing practice, she received national recognition for her study of the interrelationship of nursing acuity, diagnosis related groups, and the economic delivery of health care.

“As an internationally recognized scholar, researcher, educator and author, Margaret’s studies have impacted clinical and practical nursing protocol throughout the United States and other countries,” Szafran said. “She was known for her fearlessness, outspoken manner and strong commitment to mentoring and patient care services.”

Following her death in 2002, the University of Rochester created the Margaret D. Sovie Lecture Series, and Alfred endowed the Margaret D. Sovie Center for Advanced Practice in 2006, the first of its kind in the country.

He also established the Margaret D. Sovie Endowed Scholarship at SUNY Canton, which provides awards annually to three students studying nursing or health care. More than 400 students are currently enrolled in the college’s nursing programs, which are traditionally among the most competitive and popular degrees.

Last year, the school unveiled a state-of-the-art nursing simulation laboratory that replicates a hospital’s intensive care unit to assist students with problem solving and patient assessment.

“Our work in the simulation laboratory, paired with knowledgeable and experienced faculty members, establishes a solid foundation to excel in our professional careers,” said senior nursing student Joshua Cartmill, a Sovie scholarship recipient. “I hope to one day step back through the doors of the Margaret D. Sovie School of Nursing and offer the same support and enthusiasm as Al and Margaret have given us.”

The ceremony concluded with a plaque unveiling by President Szafran and Deborah Polniak, a longtime friend of Alfred’s.

“Each time we see Margaret’s name, we are reminded of her strength, drive and intelligence,” said Vice President for Advancement Anne M. Sibley. “We are sincerely grateful to Al for his generosity, and to Debbie Polniak, who helped make all of this possible.”

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The Margaret D. Sovie Center for Advanced Practice was created at Strong Memorial Hospital November 30, 2006. The Center was named in honor of Margaret Sovie, who was a former Director of Nursing at Strong and was a pioneer in establishing advanced practice in acute care. The Sovie Center is located within Strong Memorial Hospital, with an Office located on the 4th floor.

The Center has multiple functional units. Currently these include regulatory and credentialing, education, professional development and coaching, research and evidence-based practice development and practice model innovation.