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Discussion

Magnet Status - Why?

Magnet status came up in a conversation yesterday. I know it costs the hospital a good amount to go through the process. I've read posts from others whose hospitals have gone through the process. Some seemed to think it benefited staff and patients; some didn't.

What is the benefit to the hospital? Is it about prestige? Is it about marketing? Do they receive additional compensation for having achieved Magnet Status. At a time when hospitals are telling us they're losing money (and can't afford cost of living raises for staff) I can't help but wonder what motivates a hospital to take it on.

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    The hospital's motivation is often the type of thing you mentioned -- more prestige, advantages in marketing, etc. Certainly, that is a part of the picture. However, there are also other parts of the picture.

    Sometimes, nursing leaders use the marketing advantages to convince the financial people to free up the money to make improvements in the nursing work environment and get support for making improvements in the nursing care. The nursing people are doing it to get nursing things they want -- but "selling" the administration on the financial and prestige benefits.

    It's similar to giving kids a "gold star" for good behavior. Even adults like "rewards and recognition" for doing good work -- even though they should be doing good work just because it is the right thing to do. The Magnet Program (... and the Baldridge Award ... and being an "Employer of Choice" ... etc.) are all just "gold stars" in the health care industry.

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    I used to think Magnet was just a big marketing gimmick. I had to write a paper about it for my MSN program, and in researching the paper, I actually found some compelling evidence for Magnet, including better patient outcomes in those hospitals that are Magnet (I realize correlation does not equal causation). Here is a thread I started a few years ago as I was researching the paper, with some good discussion about it (and I do still think of it as a big marketing gimmick, but I don't believe that's ALL it is, and I still think the ANCC is a BRILLIANT marketer):

    https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/a-poll-regarding-951701.html

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    It benefits the hospital through prestige and marketing; it doesn't really benefit the staff. In the past, when magnet designation wasn't so common, there may have been some benefits to the nursing staff . . . It was supposed to be a nicer place where nurses would want to work. Now it mostly seems to be hospitals going through the motions to get or keep Magnet status, and then back to business as usual when the surveyors are gone.

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    That is what I had feared - that Magnet is more about marketing and image. I have little patience for image that is not backed up by substance.

    It's like when the Joint Commission is due to visit. All of a sudden, repairs that have been needed for months become a priority. Equipped is available. The floor is staffed appropriately. If this is what the Joint Commission requires for us to maintain our accreditation, then this should be the way we operate every single day. I'm afraid that if we try for Magnet status, it will be more of the same window dressing. Every nurse I know wants to provide top notch care but it often feels like management says all the right things, but then undermines us by cutting staff or not providing equipment.

    I was hoping against hope that Magnet might actually provide a structure and discipline that would prevent the hospital from pulling back resources once the inspection was over (until the next one is due and then the charade begins again.) and that there might be an increase in reimbursement from insurance companies that would pay for more resources.

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    I disagree that there is nothing in it to benefit staff. In many hospitals there are benefits for the staff. It's just that those benefits aren't appreciated by everyone equally.

    Not everyone appreciates financial support for things that lead to career advancement for nurses -- like specialty certification, higher tuition reimbursement, support for conference attendance, for being a presenter at conferences, support for doing poster presentations, publishing, support for staff RN's participating in research, EBP, and quality improvement projects.

    People conveniently forget that in order to be designated as a Magnet hospital, your hospital and staff has to out-perform the benchmarks on both key quality of care measures and staff satisfaction.

    Sure, there are some hospitals that "play the game" by manipulating appearances and not being as good as they make themselves out to be. That is inevitable with any system of recognition. And if the staff is really unhappy, they shouldn't be answering the staff satisfaction surveys in such a positive way ... and letting the Magnet folks know that things are not as good as they appear.

    So yes ... it's not perfect ... but it is unrealistic to expect any system of recognition to be perfect. However overall ... the Magnet program has influenced a lot of hospitals to do some good things that they wouldn't have otherwise done. That has changed the industry's expectations of what should a hospital be doing -- and that is a good thing. So personally, I would like to see the program improved a bit -- but not eliminated. Because if it were eliminated, the good things that have happened because of it would probably go away.

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    I just wanted to add this to the conversation. One of the big hospitals in Syracuse, tried it, they were gung ho. But, guess what, it is no longer a magnet hospital, and LPN's, are once again members of the staff. From a consumers point of view, I'm retired, what matters most to me, is the caliber of the doctors, of course I do want good nursing staff. The hospital I am speaking of has a great reputation for orthopedics, and the cardiac group is outstanding. They just could not find that many BSN nurses. No hospitals in Syracuse, NY, have it, and I don't think I have heard anything about it since St. Joes tried it.

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