magnet status: does it really mean a better place to practice?

[suanna]

I've been hearing "Magnet Hospital" and "Magnet Status" for about 15 years now. My hospital is not YET magnet but they have hopes for the future. What I'm wondering: Is Magnet Status still an indicator of the highest quality of bedside care with bedside nurses empowered to make decisions that impact thier patient care, or has it become just one more title to put in next weeks ad in the newspaper? Are the standards that are used to entitle a hospital to be a "Magnet" hospital still applicable to the bedside caregiver?

[NeoPediRN]

Unfortunately not. One of the worst, most underhanded and unsafe hospitals I've ever worked for had magnet status.

[Crux1024]

I have to agree with the above. As long as they pretty up for the inspections, they have Magnet.

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

Maggot Status is what we call it among our peers.

I have yet to see any changes that directly impact my practice for the better since my hospital achieved this status. I still don't understand all the hoopla about Magnet Status. Just my opinion, but I feel that a huge amount of resources were used to gain this status.

I. Don't. Get. It.

[chicookie, BSN, RN]

This is what I feel about Magnet Status:

It only applies to administration. On the actual nursing floor half the nurses don't know and the other half don't care. At the end of the day its just extra work when administration decides to do "research". -____-

I worked here before we were Magnet and I hear the same complaints today as I did back then.

Ask anyone outside of the hospital and they have no idea what Magnet it or that the facility where I am at has it.

[Tait, MSN, RN]

I work at one of the oldest Magnet status hospitals in the south, 12 years and running strong. I believe it is worth it...if your facility actually uses it the way it was intended, and not as a marketing technique.

[elkpark]

The ANCC originally conceived of the "Magnet" designation as a way to recognize the hospitals that were already providing a superior workplace/practice environment for nurses. Unfortunately, as hospitals figured out they could use this as a marketing tool (look at how many hospitals advertise their Magnet status as if it refers primarily to outstanding patient care, rather than a positive working environment for nurses), more and more hospitals began jumping through whatever hoops and making whatever temporary, empty gestures they had to in order to qualify for the designation, and then, once they had it, returning to "business as usual."

There are still outstanding hospitals (from a nursing practice/employment perspective, that is) that are Magnet hospitals, or that are currently pursuing Magnet status for the first time; but, unfortunately, you can't assume that Magnet status automatically means anything in particular. There are good and bad (again, from a nursing employment/practice POV) hospitals that have the Magnet designation, and some great employer hospitals that don't have Magnet status and choose not to pursue it. Over time, it's ended up meaning v. little (other than as an advertising/marketing tool ... )

[NickiLaughs, ADN, BSN, RN]

It depends on the facility, and what they embrace magnet as. I can tell you at the two hospitals I have worked at where Magnet was present:

We had TECHS in the Critical Care unit, to assist us and a lift team.

Additionally we had a secretary to aid us in accurate orders being placed.

Huge help. The first facility I worked at was not magnet and had none of this.

While that is not what it's about, they obviously cared enough to give the nurses help they needed.

Additionally, the VAP (ventilator acquired pneumonia rates at both hospitals I work at:

1 has had no VAP since it opened last year.

the other has had no VAP for the last 50 months!

The nurses are happy, many participate and are encouraged to participate in research projects in order to improve patient safety. There are many committees with many active bedside nurses looking for ways to improve patient safety and flow. Yes, it means more work, but everyone there honestly cares about the patient and wants the best possible outcomes.

I have heard of other magnet hospitals being horrible places to work. So, you need to evaluate the individual facility.

Hope this helps.

[silentRN]

I have learned overtime that Magnet status means absolutely nothing. What you should really be looking for in a hospital is "Acedemic versus Community." I have enjoyed working in a teaching hospital than I have in a for-profit.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

The difference Magnet makes for the nurses? We get more work to do that has absolutely NOTHING to do with patient care. If I fill out one more survey or take one more quiz to prepare for Magnet inspection, I am going to absolutely scream.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

magnet status means a flurry of work around the time re-certification is approaching . . . but none of the worthwhile changes last past the re-certification. it's an advertising tool, nothing more. at least, in the four magnet institutions in which i have worked, that's all it was. i guess theorectically there could be some out there who take it seriously.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I think it depends on whether or not the hospital leaders really believe in the Magnet principles or whether they are just putting on a temporary show to fool the Magnet Program reviewers.

The program's heart is in the right place -- but the poor execution of it by some administrators ruins it.