Magnet Status

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · Jun 1, 2014

My 2 cents.... I have worked in 2 hospitals in my area that are non magnet (one is also a teaching hospital and seeking magnet to "compete") and currently work in one that is/was magnet and is also a teaching hospital. My current hospital just lost it's status as magnet due to nurse dissatisfaction scores being too high. The whole process of recertification seemed very arduous and serious. The hospital is now trying to rectify the nursing issue and reapply they have 2 years to do so. With all that being said I believe our hospital is far and above the others in quality of care and overall professionalism and they take magnet very seriously. They are not perfect and there are definitely things that can be improved, but the collegial environment and the opportunities for nurses to advance and be involved in cutting edge EBP changes is fantastic. I would never go back to the other hospitals they were truly pits of bitterness and unsafe practice. I am very interested to see how they intend to go about raising nurse satisfaction scores, they are soliciting feedback and trying to make a plan.......[/quote']
There may be lots of opportunities, however, if the nursing satisfaction scores are so low that it causes the facility to lose this magnet label--and that is exactly what it is, a label, (and an expensive one that could be better used to hire and retain nurses) then it is certainly nurses speaking up and wanting to be heard.
It was pitched in my area as an anti-union, create your own rules thing. And interestingly, those "rules" all have to be approved by upper management. A passive-aggressive attempt by the powers that be to control nurses and their environments.
Not to mention a bitter pill to swallow for the multiple year, near retirement LPNs who were then given the "early retirement/scope to that of a CNA/look there's the door" choices. All in pursuit of this label.
It is akin to obtaining a really, really good fake designer handbag. On the surface it may seem real, but open it up and inside it is shiny, fake, synthetic.

AnonymousLPN · Jun 1, 2014

Do most pts know or care about the Magnet status?

When we lived in Florida most people knew about Magnet schools which were schools located in bad neighborhoods but given special programs like art or IT programs in order to get kids from other areas to come to school in the bad neighborhood (one school even gave free laptops to every kid to get them to come to the school in a hellish 'hood). Ask people about a Magnet hospital and I bet most would just assume that meant it was in the 'hood.

Most people just go to whichever hospital their doctor directs them to go or whichever is closest to their home. As such, Magnet always just seemed a huge waste to me. Patients could care less, it doesn't bring in more patients and it diverts money away from areas where it could be put to much better use.

The suits THINK Magnet makes them look good and like the Emperors they are, continue to trot around sans clothes.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Jun 2, 2014

I find it interesting that many of the same structural standards that originated as part of the Magnet program are now popping up in other types of "quality" certifications like Leapfrog and JC. There are far more organizations that have lost Magnet certification than those that have given it up voluntarily... but that information has been scrubbed for public consumption so it's better to claim the former than admit to the latter circumstance.

As a patient, I always choose Magnet facilities.... probably because nurses are 'informed' consumers. But that's not the only criteria I look for. I also look at all the other safety/quality data sources. I have educated my family and friends to do the same.

So Magnet is not the end-all and be-all. What is there to replace it? It's not perfect, but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.