Does Magnet Status make a difference?

I'm not a nurse yet, but it really seems like it makes no difference. If that's the case, what is the point of Magnet status and why are all the facilities rushing to get it? I had someone tell me that after so many hospitals achieve Magnet status, it will be washed up anyway.

If anything it's worse. As stated in one reply, it's a PR thing. Like I metioned in another thread. They know how to give a good sell. But when it comes to living up to what they say ,,,,it's a joke. Sounds good to the public but to the people who actually do the work it's a joke. Staffing is just as bad, seems they are obsessed on scoring for the hospital (what ever marker they use ....we use Pres-gainy(not sure of spelling...that's how much it means to me),it just allows the admin to check a box to say they did something. As always , nurses continue to work short, no breaks, constantly being called to come in extra, nasty notes on qa reports ( they never seem to say, we noticed the time between triage and EKG was too long.....how can we help the staff improve the process, it's always, comments like explain and document !!! IN RED WRITTEN ACROSS THE COPY OF THE CART. They never stop to look at staffing for that night or pull the dictation or anything else of the sort. SO ....SAME OLD SAME OLD (SOS)

Thanks for all the replies. I'm trying to decide between three hospitals for my internship. One is a Magnet facility and the other is on "the journey" to earning Magnet status. The third isn't magnet, but it is union. The facility is nice, but the nurses spend more time in the breakroom than caring for patients. I've always been a big supporter of unions, and while they may be the best paid nurses in the city, they are the most unhappy nurses I've ever seen. I thought maybe magnet status had something to do with why the nurses at the other two facilites actually seemed to like being there. Guess not.

Thanks for the input. The first hospital sounds like it may be the best choice.

thanks for all the replies. i'm trying to decide between three hospitals for my internship. one is a magnet facility and the other is on "the journey" to earning magnet status. the third isn't magnet, but it is union. the facility is nice, but the nurses spend more time in the breakroom than caring for patients. i've always been a big supporter of unions, and while they may be the best paid nurses in the city, they are the most unhappy nurses i've ever seen. i thought maybe magnet status had something to do with why the nurses at the other two facilites actually seemed to like being there. guess not.

thanks for the input. the first hospital sounds like it may be the best choice.

in general, i've noticed that the nurses in union hospitals are the happiest. you may just have encountered a toxic unit in your union hospital. it happens. nurses in magnet hospitals seem the least happy -- maybe because we know it's all just a pr thing and has nothing to do with making our jobs better!

Magnet Status is a feel good corporate ploy used to lull nursing staff into a false sense of confidence.

Ranks right up there with the "nursing should be like Disneyland" customer service swill.

My hospital is going through the motions of being Magnet Hospital, with meetings, Safety Council reported the stats on each units with their problems, patient satisfaction, etc & doing reports 3 times a year. These are boring & repetitive but it looks like we have to do these things to qualify. How things will be affected afterwards is up for discussion & I don't hold my breath about anything. My ED is doing pretty well although there was a big meeting with our director & the VP of Nursing last week talking about staffing, & all that stuff, with a follow up meeting next month. In fact I am going to one of these meetings this afternoon, talking about Flo Nightingale & her model of nursing. It should be at least entertaining.

in general, i've noticed that the nurses in union hospitals are the happiest. you may just have encountered a toxic unit in your union hospital. it happens...

well, actually, there are four "toxic" units where i've had clinicals over the past year and a half. however, on the more specialized units that require more certification, the nurses seem happy and take good care of their patients.

Our hospital recently became Magnet. The "journey" to Magnet was awful, filled with BS and annoying, frustrating, whatever you want to call it. The day the magnet people did their tour, our unit was staffed to the max, I was off-going night shift, the nurses had 3-4 patients each (usually 5), convieniently none of our LPNs were scheduled, there was a dedicated Team Leader and another RN to be a "resource nurse". So, two team leaders basically for a 33 bed unit. It was the biggest crock ever. Now that we are Magnet, it feels a little better, at least they've backed off some of the BS. In the end, it's still the same hospital, and I don't think they changed anything for the better, as far as day to day staff nurses go. But I guess my point is, it might be easier to start somewhere that is not pushing all the BS they push during the "journey to magnet".

The day after the hospital I work for got Magnet, staffing was cut in half for EVERY unit. The excuse was that they spent too much nursing budget on staffing for the Magnet site visit, and sooo much money had been spent on the application process. I like my facility, but I think that this line of BS was just a bit too much.....

Our hospital applied to be magent...but instead got in trouble with JCAHO!

Seems to be a feather in the cap of management if magnet status is granted to the hospital. I don't see much change for nurses except for no mandation.

Our hospital applied to be magent...but instead got in trouble with JCAHO!

I bet that made the admin rethink the application process!

:roll :roll :roll:roll

Not sure that any of the "status" qualifiers ever make a difference. Sure, on the surface it may sound good, but I think that eventually the "secret" will be out and then...it won't matter. Kinda reminds me of the "100 Best" or "50 Top Hospitals in the Nation in____". Seems there are lots of top hospitals, ever really wonder where all the BAD ones are??

I find no difference in the care in magnet vs. non-magnet. I find that nurse morale declines post magnet journey, maybe it's because that no matter how you try to dress it up ... it just is what it is. I also find that nurses have little tolerance for BS and sometimes it just gets out of control in the management race to get the "Status".

A hospital that has trouble with staffing, management turnover, customer volumes, physician issues will not have those problems solved with the magical journey to magnet. They may try and ramp it up for the "process", but the problems will remain.

Good nurses will be good nurses. Happy nurses are happy nurses. Good, happy nurses provide the BEST care to their patients.

Good doctors are good doctors. Happy doctors are rare (kidding).

Patients with a choice will always choose a GOOD hospital. I'm not sure that "Magnet Status" will mean very much to an otherwise savvy consumer (err...patient).

This is what I need to be a good nurse (and happy), magnet does not effect this:

* RESPECT from management, other staff and patients.

* COMPENSATION that is fair for the job I do!

* SUPPORT from ancillary staff that shares a common goal!

* SUPPLIES/EQUIPMENT in a supply that will allow me to do my job well.

* COMMON SENSE in customer service endeavors.

Practice SAFE! :)