A poll, regarding nurses' opinions on Magnet status

[klone]

This is not a formal research study, I'm just curious about the prevailing attitude of nurses, and what better place to ask than the meeting ground of 100K nurses?

So my manager mentioned to me the other day about how our facility is in the process of obtaining Magnet status. I then mentioned that I'm actually writing a paper about it for my program. I gave my opinion about Magnet designation, and I could tell by her expression that I was blaspheming.

It seems to me that hospital administration and executives seem to care a lot about Magnet status, but plain ol' nurses, for whom the designation was originally supposed to benefit, don't seem to care.

In research for my paper, I learned that less than 7% of facilities in the US have Magnet designation, and only about 3% have redesignation. That's per the ANCC. Of course, they do not share in their stats how many facilities APPLY for Magnet status. And I'm wondering if the lower REdesignation rate is due to how stringent their guidelines are, or due to the realization after the fact by facilities that it's not worth it and they drop out of the program.

So my question to you, my fellow nurses (please, nurses only): does the fact that a hospital has Magnet status influence your opinion of the facility as a place to work?

[klone, MSN, RN]

I honestly believe that some hospitals are simply better than others. It has nothing to do with Magnet IMHO.

This is sort of where I'm at, I guess.

I think it's a matter of correlation/causation, or chicken/egg.

[random_nurse12]

My experience has been that the hospital makes the improvements necessary for Magnet, treats their nurses well, staffs appropriately, etc. to get their nurse satisfaction high. Then after the Magnet status is obtained, they stop everything and employees end up very bitter. That is what happened in two Magnet institutions I worked in. I think it is absolute ********.

It would not influence my decision either way. Magnet is just another way to take a hospital's money and make administration feel good.

[mappers]

See my citations above.

All that being said, I do find the fact that this whole program seems to be conceived of and created by the ANCC to be suspicious. They created a perceived deficiency or need, then created their own idea to fix this perceived deficiency. And they benefit a LOT by it. So I'm still very skeptical about the ANCC and their whole marketing of Magnet. I keep reading "Magnet is the gold standard for hospitals" - well, who originally stated that? The ANCC, the creators of Magnet. I wouldn't call it a pyramid scheme, per se, but I definitely find the whole genesis of Magnet to be specious.

I don't have a lot of positive thoughts on the ANCC as a whole. I do think they're BRILLIANT marketers and have made a lot of money for themselves by creating a need and then filling it.

I'm suspicious of this stuff too. I an certified in Oncology. I do not deny that I learned a lot through the process of getting my certification. However, I now need to maintain all of these CEUs and, guess who will gladly sell me the courses at a pretty inflated price?? You guessed it, the same people who created the certification to begin with. Seems like a little bit of a racket to me.

[firstinfamily, RN]

ANCC, ANA, they are doing it for the betterment of nursing!!?? At least that is what they want us to think!! What happens when the ANCC will no longer endorse the CEUs where will that leave those who have worked so hard to maintain them?? How long does an institution have to pay to maintain Magnet Status?? Is there some form of annual fee etc.? I know there is a tremendous upfront fee and a time limit restricting how long it takes for an institution to achieve Magnet. Its all about money!!! Status??? Is patient care really improved? Perhaps if the staffing ratios are improved there are actually enough staff to care for the number of patients?? Same old, same old in a different box. Sorry, I am so sarcastic.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Once a facility obtains Magnet status, it is good for 4 years. There is no annual fee or anything beyond the initial application/certification stuff. And while it is expensive, it would appear based on studies that having the Magnet designation earns money for the hospital as well, so it seems that there is a financial benefit to it for the facility:

Jayawardhana, J., Welton, J. M., & Lindrooth, R. C. (2014, May). Is there a business case for magnet hospitals? Estimates of the cost and revenue implications of becoming a magnet. Medical Care, 52(5), 400-406. Wolters Kluwer Health - Article Landing Page

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

See my citations above.

All that being said, I do find the fact that this whole program seems to be conceived of and created by the ANCC to be suspicious. They created a perceived deficiency or need, then created their own idea to fix this perceived deficiency. And they benefit a LOT by it. So I'm still very skeptical about the ANCC and their whole marketing of Magnet. I keep reading "Magnet is the gold standard for hospitals" - well, who originally stated that? The ANCC, the creators of Magnet. I wouldn't call it a pyramid scheme, per se, but I definitely find the whole genesis of Magnet to be specious.

I don't have a lot of positive thoughts on the ANCC as a whole. I do think they're BRILLIANT marketers and have made a lot of money for themselves by creating a need and then filling it.

And I kept an absolute open mind to one of the links directly to the ANCC magnet page. Perhaps I am jaded, however, there was a TON of flowery language about how awesome possum the managers of magnet facilities are....but reading between the lines, they are making you do what they want and feel really good about it.

Then, comes the disclaimer part of any program. There is not a shred of evidence that the ANCC backs or has that show that there is better patient outcome due to being a magnet facility. They use (as we all do, magnet or not) EBP with an assumption that the outcomes would benefit the patient. But that doesn't have a thing to do with magnet. So, again, there is not a shred of evidence as to if being magnet means better patient outcomes, and ANCC admits that on the very last couple of lines of their magnet page.

[klone, MSN, RN]

And I kept an absolute open mind to one of the links directly to the ANCC magnet page.

I don't understand what this means.

[PMFB-RN, RN]

I am a new grad nurse and when applying for jobs I only sought magnet status hospitals. I'm currently working at one of the top institutions in the US. My thinking was that I want to be the best nurse I can be, so what better way to do that than to surround myself around the best.

I have worked as extern and in clinicals at non magnet hospitals and can say wholeheartedly that the hospital I work at now has a earned it's title as magnet. The nurses exceed the standard in everything that they do. The teamwork, the patient/nurse interactions, the critical thinking skills, vigilance and promptness with care, dedication to patient satisfaction, etc is amazing. But the one thing I can say about this hospital that goes above and beyond when compared to the other hospitals I've worked at is the willingness to welcome, train, and help me thrive as a new nurse. They are happy to see new grads, students, shadows, etc on the unit because these people are seen as an asset, a potential to become a great health care worker, an opportunity to boost the reputation even more.

.

Sounds like you wok at a great hospital. Many of the best hospitals were early adopters of Magnet. They were already great and likely had to do very little to qualify.

Most of the rest were/are crapy places and slapping a "Magnet" label on didn't change that. My observation is that it made some worse.

I very much doubt anything would change if your hospital decided not to recertify.

However the simple fact that the AACN has allowed so many dumps to be Magnet has rendered the certification meaningless.

[PMFB-RN, RN]

Actually, according to some of the research I've found in writing my paper, the answer is yes to both.

Chen, J., Koren, M. E., Munroe, D. J., & Yao, P. (2014, October/December). Is the hospital's Magnet status linked to HCAHPS scores? Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 29(4), 327-335. Wolters Kluwer Health - Article Landing Page

Evans, T., Rittenhouse, K., Horst, M., Osler, T., Rogers, A., Miller, J., ... Rogers, F. B. (2014, July). Magnet hospitals are a magnet for higher survival rates at adult trauma centers. Journal of Trauma & Acute Care Surgery, 77(1), 89-94.

This makes sense to me. After all many of the finest hospitals in the country were among the first to be certified. In their case Magnet was recognition of an already fine institution.

However the deceit and hijinks later adopters go trough to make themselves "Magnet" hospitals, as several here who have first hand knowledge have shared, is disgraceful.

[SubSippi]

Also, at my hospital, they're required to give nurse satisfaction surveys to maintain magnet status. Which sounded great in orientation...but the surveys literally do not give you a chance to express dissatisfaction! The questions are like this: On a scale of 1-5, how happy are you with your job? 1-less happy 2-a little happy 3-happy 4-very happy 5-incredibly happy. There were no places for free text. Whoever made that survey did not hide the fact that they weren't concerned about nurse satisfaction.

To me, it seems like magnet hospitals have all these boxes they have to check, but nobody is coming around to see if they're doing it in any meaningful sort of way.

[sistrmoon, BSN, RN]

Haha, "less happy?" What is this "1984"? Doubleplusungood!

[AmeliasAunt]

I have recently begun work at a Magnet recognized facility and what a difference! Unfortunately, during our last redesignation visit, the hospital was not renewed. Frankly, the reasons given for non-renewal were flimsy and there were only 3 out of 65 areas that they found us to be sub-par. The hospital is appealing the decision.

I have heard nurses from other Magnet facilities that their work experiences were awful. I do not think this has much to do with being Magnet or not. If a facility wants to work toward Magnet and it is granted but then they fail to uphold the standards then naturally nurses will become unsatisfied, etc. Having Magnet status is only as good as the culture and climate that is fostered throughout the hospital. Where I am currently working, the positive attitudes and support of nursing staff is palpable. I have no doubt that the hospital will win their appeal and be re-designated!