Magnet Status And Adn Nurses Not Another Adn Vs Bsn Thread

RN and Mommy · Apr 28, 2006

I am also graduating in May with my ASN and now have an RN position in a Magnet hospital. I worked there as an aide for 4 years and I think that may have helped some. I know a lot of my fellow students are having trouble finding RN positions in hospitals because there aren't that many available at this time in my area. Most of the hosptials want some type of experience. I don't think that has anything to do with the magnet status of the hospital as they are finding that they are having trouble getting an interview at any of the hospitals (there are many, probably around 10-12 in our area and only one magnet hospital).

Katnip, RN · Apr 28, 2006

Don't base your career on what word on the street says. They are often just based on unfounded rumors. Apply for the jobs you want and see what happens.

HappyNurse2005, RN · Apr 28, 2006

I am a RN at a Magnet hospital. It was already Magnet status last year, when I was hired as a ADN grad. We are hiring ADN grads this year, too.

That rumor is hooey. Maybe certain hospitals want BSN only, but its not a requirement of Magnet hospitals

workingforskies · Apr 28, 2006

Magnet status is, (I would insert every profane word I could find in my extensive mental library, but I won't because this is a civilized message board.)

I will say this, don't sweat it. Magnet hospitals, from my experience, are the same as everywhere else. Besides, the nursing shortage bug will bite them as well if has is not already and they will have to relent.

BTW, I posted the following a few months ago on another thread:

"Magnet Status" is a friggen fraud and means absolutely nothing to the day to day practice of the average nurse.

Magnet Status is the brain child of the American Nurses Association and it is marketed on 3 different levels.

1 - It is sold to the public as an assurance that they will receive excellent nursing care. ("It's a 'Magnet' hospital, it must be good!")

2 - It is sold to the hospitals as a means of raising their profile in their community and as a way to make them seem more attractive to nurses who might think about working there. ("Look at us, we are a 'Magnet' hospital. That means we are a place you want to get treated in AND we are a great place to work for!")

3 - It is sold to nurses as an attractive place to work. ("If it's a 'Magnet' hospital, they must REALLY care about the nurses!")

But go to the ANA's web site and plod through their page upon page of corporate speak and you will discover that the minimum standards a hospital must meet to obtain Magnet Status are what they would meet to pass a JACHO inspection. The ANA then extrapolates that out to create an assumption/illusion that if the hospital meets those standards, it's because of excellent nursing, there for.... it must me a great place to work/receive care.

I have personally worked at 2 hospitals which received that recognition while I worked in them. And not a damn thing changed! The nurse to patient ratios were still dangerous. (I.E. 3 pediatric bone marrow transplant patients to one RN. And a tech if you were really lucky.) No raise in pay when plenty of other non magnet hospitals in the same market paid a lot more. Same crappy benefits. (Can someone explain the logic of saying you get 7 paid holidays a year, but only 7.2 hours of each day of them???) No training for new managers on how to manage people. Being overwhelmed in the ER on an almost nightly basis with no help and no hope. No reasonable dispute/discipline process. (I.E. A complaint is made, you get written up/suspended/terminated with no chance to even have your side heard.)

All in all, in my experience, the most important criteria a hospital has to meet in attaining Magnet Status is that the check has to clear.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Apr 29, 2006

Uhh, just worked at BIDMC, and they made it clear that they would have hired me permanently....and I have an ADN.

There is a difference between what they would prefer and what they will take.

fotografe · Apr 29, 2006

I spoke with a new grad hired at Mass General. He told me only new grads with a BSN are hired for new grad positions. If you have one year experience and an ASN, they will definitely consider you. I spoke to a nurse recruiter at Brigham and Women's and they most definitley hire ASN prepared nurses in new grad positions. I don't know about Beth Israel. Like a previous poster said, don't belive what you hear. Ask for yourself to get the full story.

Hi,
I live in Massachusetts and Grad. ( god willing in May with an ADN). The word on the street in Boston is that the major teaching hospitals are not taking new ADN grads and are only taking BSN's due to MAGNET status that they have aquired or that they want to aquire. For example Mass General has Magnet Status, it now will not hire an ADN nurse as a new grad. Brigham and Beth Israel are trying to get it and are now excluding us. This forces us to stay closer to the community hospitals. Are any other nurses around the country running into this? I thought magnet status was to help us, not exclude us. I am all for furthering my education once I get employed, but I have a family to support that is why I did the 2 year approach.. Please tell me what you are finding where you guys live?
How are people dealing with this issue, should I try to get in as a CNA and then get an RN job from within? Any suggestions?
Terri

Antikigirl, ASN, RN · Apr 29, 2006

The magnet status hospitals, all but one (and that is a BSN teaching hospital) around here will hire ADN and BSN. I was hired on right out of school. So I haven't run into this.

Also, some hospitals are finding that their are more ADN nurses out there right now because of the affordablity and somewhat more flexible schedules of the schooling. Many nurses around here get their ADN, see if this is worth going on to BSN without paying for the BSN and finding out this isn't working for them or not what they wanted. So hospitals are finally realizing that if they need nurses, they need to open up to the ADN's, since their are many more.

Many facilities are hiring ADN's around her and offering perks for if you proceed with your BSN! That is very nice!

P_RN, ADN, RN · Apr 29, 2006

http://www.massgeneral.org/jobs/jobframe.htm

This is the MGH employment site. I see very few jobs with the 4 year requirement. May I ask if you have something in black and white that says otherwise?

RENAISSANCE RN · Apr 29, 2006

I have nothing in writing for Brigham except for last years grads having trouble here is what Mass General says about New Grad Req's on their website: I think I am just going to get a CNA job and hope I can get in from within. Seems like a good idea.

Requirements:

Requirements for New Graduate RN's:

' BSN required, unless you are already an employee of MGH. If you are Diploma or ASN-prepared, please apply after gaining at least one year of RN experience, preferably in an acute care hospital setting.

' RN Licensure in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

' Ability to commit to a full-time (40-hour) day/night rotating

RN34TX · Apr 30, 2006

Magnet status is, (I would insert every profane word I could find in my extensive mental library, but I won’t because this is a civilized message board.)
I will say this, don’t sweat it. Magnet hospitals, from my experience, are the same as everywhere else. Besides, the nursing shortage bug will bite them as well if has is not already and they will have to relent.
BTW, I posted the following a few months ago on another thread:
"Magnet Status" is a friggen fraud and means absolutely nothing to the day to day practice of the average nurse.
Magnet Status is the brain child of the American Nurses Association and it is marketed on 3 different levels.
1 - It is sold to the public as an assurance that they will receive excellent nursing care. ("It's a 'Magnet' hospital, it must be good!")
2 - It is sold to the hospitals as a means of raising their profile in their community and as a way to make them seem more attractive to nurses who might think about working there. ("Look at us, we are a 'Magnet' hospital. That means we are a place you want to get treated in AND we are a great place to work for!")
3 - It is sold to nurses as an attractive place to work. ("If it's a 'Magnet' hospital, they must REALLY care about the nurses!")
But go to the ANA's web site and plod through their page upon page of corporate speak and you will discover that the minimum standards a hospital must meet to obtain Magnet Status are what they would meet to pass a JACHO inspection. The ANA then extrapolates that out to create an assumption/illusion that if the hospital meets those standards, it's because of excellent nursing, there for.... it must me a great place to work/receive care.
I have personally worked at 2 hospitals which received that recognition while I worked in them. And not a damn thing changed! The nurse to patient ratios were still dangerous. (I.E. 3 pediatric bone marrow transplant patients to one RN. And a tech if you were really lucky.) No raise in pay when plenty of other non magnet hospitals in the same market paid a lot more. Same crappy benefits. (Can someone explain the logic of saying you get 7 paid holidays a year, but only 7.2 hours of each day of them???) No training for new managers on how to manage people. Being overwhelmed in the ER on an almost nightly basis with no help and no hope. No reasonable dispute/discipline process. (I.E. A complaint is made, you get written up/suspended/terminated with no chance to even have your side heard.)
All in all, in my experience, the most important criteria a hospital has to meet in attaining Magnet Status is that the check has to clear.

My hospital recently received Magnet status and I agree with everything workingforskies stated above.

Here's where some of you are confused about the BSN thing:

It is not a requirement that all of the staff nurses have BSN's in order for a hospital to get Magnet status.

However, it is preferred and encouraged. The hospital does need to have a certain proportion of their staff nurses have BSN's. Magnet frowns on seeing a hospital where all of their highest educated nurses are working away from the bedside and the bedside nurses consist primarily of LPN's and ADN's.

Magnet wants to see the hospital having programs in place encouraging educational mobility of it's nurses so that they do eventually all become BSN's. This was the only benefit I ever saw from working at a Magnet hospital. Mine will pay all the way through a PhD in nursing if I so desired with no out of pocket expenses for me.

When the Magnet people were visiting my facility, my manager had big posters up stating which nurses were currently in school and what their degree goals were.

She also bragged about the fact that we no longer hire LVN's in any inpatient area and that this was considered to be some "improvement" in providing higher quality patient care.

As a former LVN, I was extremely offended by those statements and let her know that.

The whole Magnet thing has left a very bad taste in my mouth.

fotografe · Apr 30, 2006

http://www.massgeneral.org/jobs/jobframe.htm
This is the MGH employment site. I see very few jobs with the 4 year requirement. May I ask if you have something in black and white that says otherwise?

Nothing in writing -- only that a friend with a BSN was recently hired (new Grad) and was told no ASNs in new grad positions. After a year of experience, that no longer applies. It does say you have to have a BSN for the specialty training programs (ICU for example). Perhaps it is unwritten and they are trying to see if they can fill all the new grad positions with BSN nurses? Maybe since there are so many MSN direct entry porgrams and BSN accelerated and regular programs in Boston proper, it isn't hard for them to find BSN nurses for new grad positions. Associate dregree nurses just have to put in a year elsewhere before they look at them. But as I said before, do ask for yourself as until you do, you really don't know what is true and what isn't.

BTW, all the jobs I clicked on for staff nurses said either BSN required or 1-2 years experience required. DId you find some that dind't say that?

Magnet Status And Adn Nurses ** Not Another Adn Vs Bsn Thread**

Magnet Status And Adn Nurses Not Another Adn Vs Bsn Thread