Magnet status?

[colleennurse]

Just wondering what this means and how a hospital becomes a Magnet hospital. I have heard people talking about it at work and am wondering. Someone said that we would no longer be allowed to wear whatever color scrubs anymore, what does that have to do with being a Magnet hospital? Not that I care that much about my outfits:mad:

[jmgrn65, RN]

I have heard many hospitals in St. Louis MO are doing the same-one thing I heard is that they do not employ any LPNS and that Magnet Status meant a certain percent of RNs were BSN-I don't know for sure. This came from a university of Phoenix guy at a SL campus. Those of you employed in these hospitals, do you have LPN coworkers? I plan on getting my RN but it helps to know in the interum if I should relocate.

Thanks :)

We do have a small number of LPN's they are being encouraged to obtain their RN, so far we aren't getting rid of them but we aren't hiring any either:nono:

[banditrn]

I honestly think it is a joke. During our Magnet journey ( a few weeks before the committee arrived), we were showered with lunches, great staffing and things like emails from our VP of nursing on how great of a job we were doing. As soon as we got Magnet status our staffing went back down the crapper and our raise has only been 1% for two consecutive years in a row. They used to give us some cheap little nurses week gift like an umbrella or lunch tote with the hospitals logo on it for nurses week, we don't even get that anymore. The hospital fails to mention how much money they pay in order to get that Magnet status. They make it out to be this big award that only hospitals with the best nurses win. In actuality they pay out the wazoo for it and then use it as a marketing tool. Just my opinion.

Sounds like the place where I worked! Altho they haven't reached Magnet status - they are applying for it. That meant getting rid of the 'trouble-makers' translated to, the nurses who didn't knuckle under and bow to the management and were willing to speak up about conditions there.

[TinyNurse, RN]

So if your hospital gains magnet status does that mean raises for nurses?

Did any of you get raises after your facility got magnet status?

[jmgrn65, RN]

no raises

[Antikigirl, ASN, RN]

I was told that magnet status meant that nurses want to work there, and people looking for jobs should find a magnet status facility because it was rated well by NURSES. Same with patient care...if nurses feel it is a good place to work, then patients will be more happy...IE MAGNET (attracting business/nurses).

I worked for a short time in our highest rated magnet hospital and left a day later as an agency nurse! A doctor called me a rent a nurse and yelled at me within my first 15 minutes there in front of a patient, nurses were too busy to help me (and I hadn't ever stepped foot in that hospital and I just needed to know where things were!), I got floated 3 times so I wound up doing assessments on 15 patients in one 8 hour shift. None of the nurses were happy, none of the patients were happy...it was horrible!

I looked at the magnet status flyers around...yep...it was from many years ago~! LOL!!!!!!!!! Guess they haven't re-uped or suceeded in getting that status again!

I work at a non magnet hospital basically run by nurses and with the help of the state nurses association and things have been great! We are all generally happy (very few complaints), passed JACHO with flying colors, our docs are friendly and value the nursing team (some hospitalists I wonder about though..LOL!), and I have only seen ONE upset pt...and she wasn't mad at the nursing...she was mad at the docs (heck I was working with her most days..and she had every right to be angry...even I was!).

So basically magnet means nothing to me...and my patients? "Magnet? What is that?"....

[MarySunshine]

Our staff did get a small raise right before the Magnet inspectors came by. Ironically, our parking fees were also raised about that same time. We haven't been Magnet long enough to see if there will be any differences. It seems the same so far.

[jrbl77, RN]

we just started shared goverance- a step toward magnet status at our hospital with in the past few months. shared goverance is supposed to be nurses making decsions for nurses- what a joke. what they are looking for are yes people. i stepped down because i do not consider myself to be a yes person. i am a nurse with many years of experience but that is not the voice administartion wants to hear. i cannot sit at a meeting and not voice my opinion if i do not agree with what is being decided.

[Jeffthenurse]

I've worked as a temp in a few magnet hospitals....all were poorly run, poorly staffed. I think of Magnet status as a gimmick for the hospital's advertising.