magnet status

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Hi. I am currently a CNA/CHHA who will be attending the Drumright LPN program this spring. I am not sure what "magnet status" means or how it improves the overall quality of patient care. What I see is pt care being done by CNA's and LPN's while RN's are bogged down by charts and paperwork. I do see the result being that LPN's are not allowed to work in those facilities, ie, SJMC, but can thrive in home health settings. I guess what I am not understanding is that the LPN taking care of the pt at home, dealing with the acuteness and acuity levels of the home care pt, under less than perfect settings, is not considered qualified to take care of this same pt while they are inhouse. Can someone make me see this logic and understand??? :typing

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Specializes in LTC, Cardiac Step-Down.

Okay, /cynicism on

Magnet status is just a way for hospitals to justify charging more for their rooms. It means nothing at all about what the actual working conditions are like or what quality of care is given. It just means the facility looks good on paper and they've given enough money to the accrediting committee. I've worked at magnet and non-magnet facilities and frankly I liked the non-magnet ones more because they seemed more focused on actual issues instead of throwing time, energy, and money on magnet requirements. Also, thumbing their noses at qualified LPNs and then whining about a "nurse shortage" doesn't make sense to me.

Can you tell I'm not big on magnet hospitals?

However, because of all this, if you want to work in a hospital, LPN may not be for you. This is not because you're not qualified, it's just because of how some suits decided things should be. Anywhere else, though, I'm sure would be glad to have you. It really depends on what your goals are once you become an LPN.

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Thanks much for your candor. My goals are to remain in home health and focus on wound care. I will go for RN, but plan to do it online. At least that is what I plan on now.l

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Specializes in LTC, Cardiac Step-Down.

Home health and wound care are good areas for an LPN - they will appreciate your skills :)

Wish you the best of luck!

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Hm. I didn't know magnet was bs. To acheive the status, there are several different criteria you have to meet --two of which are patient satisfaction and nurse retention rate. I thought patient satisfation was measured by the Press Ganey which is a survey compiled from patients and their famalies. And you can't really make up nurse retention because it's in the numbers. I wonder what kind of reward the hospital recieves (monetary?) if they get this status or if it's merely just a recognition that makes you more appealing to patients.

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I will be doing a magnet status power point for a leadership class. Where is the best site that i can find information. i have information about the application and how to apply for it I got that from the ANA site..but i need information about how magnet status retains nurses and such. I need to interview some nurses on how they feel about becoming a magnet hospital so if you want to give me some feedback..i would love it.

i also need articles within the past five years about magnet status and it must be written by a RN or other RN credential (no Docs).

ps I am not asking for much am I?:lvan:

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Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.

I think Magnet status is BS. I worked for Mercy and I can tell you, magnet doesn't mean anything. I was impressed with it at first and that is why I went to work at Mercy--once you actually work for a magnet hospital you learn though. Baptist also has magnet status now. I've been in both hospitals.

How they get these nursing retention numbers is beyond me....they are begging for nurses as bad as anyone else, and when I worked there people quit left and right!

Anyways, I've learned a lot about how hospitals function and come up with their numbers, it's never as it seems. Magnet status is something you have to pay a lot of money to get.

St Anthony's still hires LPNs! I think it is a shame that LPN's are not being utilized for their skill set. What is means is that RN's do all the patient care and the paperwork with not much help, because magnet hospitals have done away with or those trying to get magnet status are eliminating their LPNs. I worked for OU and we didn't have any LPN's. OU is trying to get magnet (good luck with that! LOL!).

I'm still a new nurse (RN) but the more I see how the hospitals work, the more I see the desperate need for LPN's. Hospital are out for money, and not much else anymore (and nurses cost them money, I think they would do away with all of us if they could! LOL!).

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I knew there were smart nurses out there like me that recognized the BS of phasing out LPN's in the middle of a nursing shortage!

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I think Magnet status is BS. I worked for Mercy and I can tell you, magnet doesn't mean anything. I was impressed with it at first and that is why I went to work at Mercy--once you actually work for a magnet hospital you learn though. Baptist also has magnet status now. I've been in both hospitals.

How they get these nursing retention numbers is beyond me....they are begging for nurses as bad as anyone else, and when I worked there people quit left and right!

Anyways, I've learned a lot about how hospitals function and come up with their numbers, it's never as it seems. Magnet status is something you have to pay a lot of money to get.

St Anthony's still hires LPNs! I think it is a shame that LPN's are not being utilized for their skill set. What is means is that RN's do all the patient care and the paperwork with not much help, because magnet hospitals have done away with or those trying to get magnet status are eliminating their LPNs. I worked for OU and we didn't have any LPN's. OU is trying to get magnet (good luck with that! LOL!).

I'm still a new nurse (RN) but the more I see how the hospitals work, the more I see the desperate need for LPN's. Hospital are out for money, and not much else anymore (and nurses cost them money, I think they would do away with all of us if they could! LOL!).

Marilynnmom,

thank you for your input but im still not clear on the idea about magnet status. Do you have any information on how this status retains nurses?

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I knew there were smart nurses out there like me that recognized the BS of phasing out LPN's in the middle of a nursing shortage!

It makes no sense to me either, and I have seen RN's seek the help of LPN's for proocedures such as cathater insertion, ng tubes, dressing changes, because they have been out of patient care and have rusty skills. Pts don't care about the endless paperwork, they want and deserve skill at the bedside. I wouldlike to be an RN for the pay, but do not want to head a team and be at the desk doing paperwork.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
Marilynnmom,

thank you for your input but im still not clear on the idea about magnet status. Do you have any information on how this status retains nurses?[/quote

The status itself does nothing to retain nurses and the Magnet program does not claim that it does. The Magnet designation is given as a recognition that the hospital has done things that make nurses want to work there. It is given AFTER the hospital has taken steps to improve its work environment. The "rewards for the hospital" come as they build a strong nursing staff and save money by having low turnover -- not from the award itself.

Before you all assume I am totally brainwashed by the Magnet program ... personally, I am on the fence about it. I think the people who established had good intentions and I like the original core idea of it -- Give public recognition to hospitals that do the things that make a great hospital great. That's what the core idea is. However, like many good ideas, it has gotten corrupted and people have found ways of beating the system -- ways to get the award without actually being great.

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Before you all assume I am totally brainwashed by the Magnet program ... personally, I am on the fence about it. I think the people who established had good intentions and I like the original core idea of it -- Give public recognition to hospitals that do the things that make a great hospital great. That's what the core idea is. However, like many good ideas, it has gotten corrupted and people have found ways of beating the system -- ways to get the award without actually being great.

As usual, llg is entirely correct. The ANCC originally created the "Magnet" designation to recognize the few hospitals that were already, of their own free will :), providing an ideal (or as close as possible) environment for nursing practice. Since hospitals all over began to recognize it could be a useful marketing tool (and notice how often hospitals talk about it in their advertising as if the designation is about excellent patient care, not a good environment for nurses), many hospitals are simply "putting lipstick on their pigs" and going through the motions to meet the minimal standards necessary to get the designation -- and then, in some cases, undoing some of those measures until it's time to reapply again!

At this point, I wish they'd just do away with the program all together, because, IMHO, it's become essentially meaningless. However, that won't happen because it makes a lot of money for the ANCC ...

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