Just came back from Magnet Conference 2006

ginger58, ASN, RN · Oct 8, 2006

Hi - I just returned from the tenth ANCC Magnet Conference in Denver, Colorado. This was my first Magnet conference. Was anyone else there? It was quite an experience.

How so quite an experience?

SouthernLPN2RN, MSN, RN, APRN, NP · Oct 9, 2006

I'd also love to hear about it. I am very interested in Magnet status and what it really means.

mom and nurse · Oct 9, 2006

How so quite an experience?

Our hospital's magnet coordinator and I attended the conference this year in Denver.

Nurses were in attendance from all over this country and the world (with nurses also attending this year from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and other countries).

We are trying to become a magnet facility and are still in the beginning stages. On the first day of the conference the hospitals that had made magnet since the last conference were announced one at a time and representatives from those hospitals stood and threw confetti, waved flags, waved pom poms, etc. Those nurses who provide bedside care were asked to stand and applauded.

I think it's easier to link to the ANCC website to explain what Magnet is: There website address is

http://www.nursingworld.org/ancc/magnet/index.html

Hope this helps

podell · Oct 10, 2006

I would love to here why. I live in a small rural community and believe it or not Magnet is the big talk these days. :nurse:

ukstudent · Oct 10, 2006

I wish you could explain more. My hospital is also trying to obtain Magnet Status. However a conference with confetti and pompoms means nothing to me other than show. My hospital has an elaborate brass and copper fountain in the lobby, but it doesn't mean they are will to pay for adequate staffing, it is all show. When I hear about hospitals that have obtained Magnet Status having nurses so unhappy that they will go on strike and the hospital still keep Magnet Status, then it doesn't seem to mean much. All it seems to me is a money making ventur with hospitals paying large sums of money in order to say that they have Magnet Status. Money that could be better spent on actually hiring more nurses. :crying2:

mom and nurse · Oct 10, 2006

I wish you could explain more. My hospital is also trying to obtain Magnet Status. However a conference with confetti and pompoms means nothing to me other than show. My hospital has an elaborate brass and copper fountain in the lobby, but it doesn't mean they are will to pay for adequate staffing, it is all show. When I hear about hospitals that have obtained Magnet Status having nurses so unhappy that they will go on strike and the hospital still keep Magnet Status, then it doesn't seem to mean much. All it seems to me is a money making ventur with hospitals paying large sums of money in order to say that they have Magnet Status. Money that could be better spent on actually hiring more nurses.

Actually, I'm not an expert on Magnet since our hospital is trying to obtain Magnet Status and I'm not the magnet coordinator. I'm a staff nurse. I would be interested in hearing about what conditions are like from nurses who work in Magnet hospitals. Has it made a difference in your work environment?

RN and Mommy · Oct 10, 2006

Actually, I'm not an expert on Magnet since our hospital is trying to obtain Magnet Status and I'm not the magnet coordinator. I'm a staff nurse. I would be interested in hearing about what conditions are like from nurses who work in Magnet hospitals. Has it made a difference in your work environment?

Our hospital has been a magnet hospital for about 2 years now and I have seen no difference what so ever. I don't think it means much.

anne74 · Oct 10, 2006

I've been at both Magnet hospitals and non-Magnet hospitals. Honestly, I think the working conditions were actually better at the non-Magnet hospital.

I think the whole idea behind Magnet is to have nursing mimic the corporate world. In other professional jobs, the standard is having a bachelor's degree. So, Magnet hospitals want all nurses to have at least a bachelor's (they start hiring only BSN nurses, and force the existing ADN's/LPN's to get their bachelor's within a certain timeframe or they are terminated - they usually pay for it, however).

Also, a clinical ladder is established, meaning there are different levels of RN's depending on experience, and you're paid more the higher you go up. However, you don't move up just based on experience - you have to do a bunch of side research projects, committees, attending meetings, etc. A bunch of non-bedside stuff, basically.

I understand the desire to raise the bar on nursing professionalism, which is great, but you can't compare nursing to a professional desk job like accountants or bankers for a variety of reasons. (I previously worked in the corporate world too, and it's a totally different world than nursing. You can't apply what works for the corporate world to nursing.)

There is a lot of paperwork involved, and hospital administration becomes obsessed with getting Magnet status and keeping it. Therefore, they often lose sight of other issues that are important to the every day life of a nurse (like staffing, job satisfaction, etc.) (By the way - if there is an emphasis on staffing ratios, RN job satisfaction within the Magnet model, I've missed it and I never see it in action at the hospitals I've been at.)

Magnet sounds great in theory, but I haven't noticed it making my job any easier. In fact, it creates more busy work for me. And, most importantly, I don't think it improves pt care either. In fact, the extra work and paper pushing keeps me away from a greater focus on pt care.

It does give a hospital some good PR and prestiege, but now that more and more hospitals are getting Magnet status, it's becomming less exclusive and prestigious. You bascially jump through some hoops, fill out some forms, fudge some stats on paper, pay some money, etc, and you've got Magnet status.