Magnet status

[dec2007]

My hospital was recently awarded "Magnet" status. I'm interested to know how other nurses view this distinction. Is it a valid reflection of the quality of patient care and employee satisfaction? Would anyone care to share their impression of the process leading to a facility receiving the award? Just interested in hearing the experiences of nurses from various regions. Thanks for your input.

[mtjoanna]

What seems to make the biggest difference to the life of the bedside nurse is not Magnet status but union status.

Agreed! I enjoyed working at the hospital prior to Magnet; the union helped keep the hospital honest but Magnet made it much less pleasant.

[Kialya, ASN]

Let me start off by saying I do NOT work in a magnet hospital (I have friends that do). From what I am told, the hospitals know exactly when the surveyors are going to show up, they beef up the staff and supplies a week or two before inspection so they look well staffed with happy people then the day after the survey it is back to bare bones staffing etc. Yuck.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Let me start off by saying I do NOT work in a magnet hospital (I have friends that do). From what I am told, the hospitals know exactly when the surveyors are going to show up, they beef up the staff and supplies a week or two before inspection so they look well staffed with happy people then the day after the survey it is back to bare bones staffing etc. Yuck.

Magnet is not like a JCAHO survey. The site visit is merely one tiny part of what is involved with becoming Magnet certified. The bigger part is the application itself.

[BittyBabyGrower, MSN, RN]

We have been awarded Magnet 3 times, is my facility better...maybe the first time because we had a fabulous Nursing Director that really worked for us. Now, nope, it is back to all the bad habits the facility had before.

My biggest peeve is that they bounced many people off committees due to the fact they did NOT have their BSN. These people have been on these committees since they started and were the go to people, knew their stuff and had been involved when we started Shared Goverance. And when the new people were in place and projects completed, these people who lead these projects to start with and had worked on them for years were excluded in being recognized for their efforts. Totally rubbed me the wrong way. I had worked with several of them and why should my name be the only one on their because Inhave extra letters behind it???

They make darn sure everything looks good on paper and they handpick the ones for the committees Magnet is looking at. And quite frankly, when patients are looking at hospitals, they 1. Usually don't have a choice on where they go and 2. Have no idea what Magnet is or means.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

Let me start off by saying I do NOT work in a magnet hospital (I have friends that do). From what I am told, the hospitals know exactly when the surveyors are going to show up, they beef up the staff and supplies a week or two before inspection so they look well staffed with happy people then the day after the survey it is back to bare bones staffing etc. Yuck.

Yup. That's pretty much how it is.

[beckster_01, BSN, RN]

We are a "magnet hospital," but all of the hospitals in the area are except for the very small ones, so I have little to compare it to. As far as shared governance goes, it can help improve things. For example I work in a large institution that likes to push for change, some of which is good and some is not so practical. Two recent examples on my unit: the early mobility/sedation reduction program and the recent nurse led rounds experiment. The unit council played a HUGE role in making sure these changes were practical from a bedside standpoint, and not just administration putting their nose where it doesn't belong. The mobility/sedation plan worked GREAT and reduced our re-admission rate and overall patient outcomes. They are still working on the nurse led rounds, but at least the bedside nurses know they have a voice and it is being heard. FYI we are not a unionized hospital either, so it is the best we've got

[WKShadowNP, DNP, APRN]

I've done shared governance for four years and most of the time the projects implemented stayed that way and one was even adopted hospital wide. We aren't magnet but we are Pathway Center of Excellence. My hospital does support us going back to school even offering education assistance and/or discounts with education partners. (I'm getting a 20% reduction in my tuition toward my NP.)

They aren't laying off those without higher education but they did make it where if you want to transfer, you have to agree to get the BSN by three years. It's unfortunate because some ADNs/Diploma nurses (yes we still have some) have BAs or BSs from other fields. You would think the education would apply.

[MendedHeart]

My hospital just got awarded is 4th magnet designation. We are am award winning hospital for patient and staff satisfaction. Named best place to work year after year.

There is always a bad apple in a group, but one cannot generalize based off that.

Magnet is reflective of nursing excellence and shard governance.

[SC_RNDude]

But, you don't have to be Magnet to have shared governance and all the other things to achieve great employee and patient satisfaction.

I work at a Magnet hospital, and it is a great place to work. I don't see why we need the actual Magnet designation to have what we have. To me, it is a marketing ploy.

[klone, MSN, RN]

But, you don't have to be Magnet to have shared governance and all the other things to achieve great employee and patient satisfaction.

I work at a Magnet hospital, and it is a great place to work. I don't see why we need the actual Magnet designation to have what we have. To me, it is a marketing ploy.

That is my biggest difficulty with fully embracing the concept. All these things could be done without needing Magnet.

[MunoRN, RN]

Magnet can be an incentive that drives positive change for nurses, and it can also be nothing more than $2,125,000 logo for the hospital's website that does nothing to improve a nurse's practice environment. Unfortunately more often than not it seems to be the latter. I think this is partly due to a misunderstanding of what Magnet is; it's not an award for nurses, it's an award for hospital and nursing leadership that provides the environment, support, staffing, decisional role, etc to provide excellent patient care. Staff nurses are supposed to use it as leverage to improve these factors and make their leadership earn the award rather than helping them get the award without earning, which is unfortunately what happens sometimes.

[AdobeRN]

The hospital I worked at before I left had Magnet status. I have my ADN and the pressure was on to further my education - this was one of the reasons I left. I finished nursing school in my 40's, needed a job to make ends meet. I have/had no desire to move up the corporate ladder or to get an advanced degree - I just wanted to work & make money. Felt I couldn't do that at the hospital I was at.