Magnet hospitals

MIA-RN1, RN · Dec 19, 2006

Magnet status is something my hospital is working on. I don't really get it, and I don't trust what I don't understand. So far all I've gotten out of it is that we all had to read the Disney book, sign a banner, wear a pin, and administration brought us lunch a few times.

I *think* we have to have some kinds of committees--there is a self-governance comittee that looks interesting but I am not sure if it is magnet related or not---but my gut tells me it is because that might be the empowerment stuff that magnet is supposed to bring.

I learned the hospital was going to magnet and I thought that meant that it was a place where nurses want to work. The facility is good, better than some in my area. But the same old same old stuff happens. I don't think magnet status will affect the issues that we face as bedside nurses---too many patients, too few staff, and long hours with less pay than we are worth.

NurseMMM · Dec 19, 2006

I know that most nurses who belong to a magnet hospital appear to be happier. They are apparently paid better and have sign on bonuses. Recruitment bonsuses and retention bonuses.

oncomom · Jan 11, 2007

I have worked at two hospitals with Magnet distinction and Ive come to the sad conclusion that it is indeed soley a marketing ploy used to convert the public's trust of nurses into cold hard cash. I have seen this distinction touted on advertisements and newsletters even as the the key magnet principals are shoved to the wayside. I am currently at a Magnet facility (just designated within the past year) and in the time after distinction the facility has managed to redo hospital staffing procedures for the worse (no longer taking acuity into account and averaging productivity) which directly translates to dangerous working conditions. It has also redone the staffing shift grids for the worse, techs included. This all done under the advice and money crunching of a financial consulting firm (these people have no idea what it is like to be a bedside nurse yet are in effect writing our nursing ratios!!) I have recently become certified for my specialty and was denied reimbursement for my exam. Continuing education is not financially supported. Our unit morale is at an all time low.

The thing that bothers me most is staffing ratios are not even considered during the magnet application process. That should have been a tip off right there. If a facility was sincerely interested in quality care and nursing satisfaction, staffing ratios would be the first to be examined.

lauralassie · Jan 11, 2007

I work for a magnet hospital, it's a joke as well. Told it isn't in the budget to go for ccrn or cen. The other night we worked with 3 rn's when there are supposed to be 9 in a 28 be ER , with an average of 200 people seen a day. There are enough bosses too many rules, not enough hours in a day for the staff to get all their little boxes checked. But , with all of that they can send all of us to an 8 hour class on coustoumer service. is in a nice facility , give us all books, and then tell us that we had to work another 8 hour day to make up for the day they sent us. They payed that speaker for 5 days of 8 hour classes (an inspirational speaker). Of course , the entire staff went to the workshop, housekeepers, rn's, techs etc,, (no Dr's of course) Everyone thought is was a joke.

boztc · Aug 20, 2007

Magnet Status is a joke. It has become nothing more than a marketing tool for Corporate health care.

The original concept was initiated to identify hospitals that valued nursing excellence so that NURSES could choose employers that appreciated their committment to patient care.

The hospitals proudly display banners that proclaim they have "the best nurses." Who are they trying to attract, nurses....or patients? I think we know the answer.