Magnet(TM) Certification- Cost-effective?

Nurses General Nursing

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My organization is attempting to become Magnet™ certified and I'm curious to hear from other RNs, particularly those in management about this issue. it seems that the amount of money being sunk into certification is ludicrous. Books, emails, manhours, consultants, meeting after meeting after meeting, structuring, restructuring, extra meetings, etc. I understand it is prestegious (allegedly) to be a Magneet facility, but does that actually affect the bottom line in the end or is this just another way that medical costs are being inflated? The fact that the term "Magnet" is legally TRADEMARKED in the U.S. tells me that someone in a marketing department somewhere decided it would be a good idea and began selling it as "helping". I know some parts are useless (according to a business professor I know, Shared Governance is a way for administration to control employees by giving them the illusion of input and control while admin makes the final decisions regardless of recommendation- essentially a sham) and that ADN nurses are evil in their eyes (or they just do a really good job of making us feel worthless). but what about the average customer? Does it really affect their decision, especially considering it's really the insurance that decides where the patient is able to go? Do they see a bump in business or is it merely a cash funnel for the sake of making the founders rich?

Thoughts?

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

EVERYTHING you say is right on the nose!

The fact that the term "Magnet" is legally TRADEMARKED in the U.S. tells me that someone in a marketing department somewhere decided it would be a good idea and began selling it as "helping". I know some parts are useless (according to a business professor I know, Shared Governance is a way for administration to control employees by giving them the illusion of input and control while admin makes the final decisions regardless of recommendation- essentially a sham) and that ADN nurses are evil in their eyes (or they just do a really good job of making us feel worthless). but what about the average customer? Does it really affect their decision, especially considering it's really the insurance that decides where the patient is able to go? Do they see a bump in business or is it merely a cash funnel for the sake of making the founders rich?
Cash funnel.....IMHO...no it isn't worth it...it is just another trendy advertising tool. I saw nor measurable increase in satisfaction or census in the small facility I was administrator. If fact I found that most of the public have no clue what that means. You can institute the joined governance without the money to the ANA/ANCC but it wasn't my decision.

It's all smoke and mirrors to push their (the ANA) agenda...BSN

Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.

No one outside of healthcare knows what Magnet is. It's a waste of money. Everything that Magnet says you need to do can be done without paying an absurd amount of money to the ANCC.

As with all management trends, this too shall fall by the wayside. Ubfortunately, only after valuable healthcare dollars have been wasted.

As an admin, how much do you think your organization sank into it?

I don't think very many people outside of healthcare have any idea what it means. The onese who do know (for the most part) it is a meaningless status that the hospital has wasted a ton of money on. We have one hospital left who maintains the magnet status, the rest have stopped their pursuit. Now most of them are still expecting their ADN's to obtain their BSN within a certain period of time.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.
As an admin, how much do you think your organization sank into it?

Here are the current fees, plus you have the administrative costs within the facility itself. What a scam.

Schedule of Fees

I would be very interested in seeing a study done that compares monetary compensation before and after Magnet status has been achieved and whether it covers the total cost of getting and maintaining the status.

Specializes in MICU, SICU, CICU.

I did not know that ANCC is a subsidiary of the ANA.

There's a lot we are not being told about Magnet, and Joint Commission for that matter. Joint Commission for example- for a non-for-profit agency- has a net annual profit in excess of $110 million. I wonder how much the ANA makes of Magnet that never makes it into the books.

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
As an admin, how much do you think your organization sank into it?
Total not including ALL man hours...approx 200 beds...around $120,000.00 the real total if I did calculations myself with man hours...probably around $200,000.00
Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

WOW - lot's of "glass half empty" responses.

I believe that adoption of Magnet principles DOES result in a much better working environment for nursing staff. Please notice that I did not say that this means paying scazillions of dollars and hiring a ton of consultants and conducting snazzy marketing campaigns.

Magnet principles are excellent. REAL shared governance empowers the bedside nurse and elevates nursing to a true professional status. Providing adequate education and career development - also excellent and very beneficial. Supporting nursing research & adopting evidence-based practice is always a good thing. I know it works - have seen it happen many times.

But - by virtue of turning it into a major profit-making initiative, ANA has undermined the essence of the original Magnet concept. There's so much emphasis on the external trappings that the true message has been lost. Too many organizations are focused on 'checking all the boxes' rather than making meaningful changes. When this happens, it becomes just another flavor of the month.

Because we realized that the overall cost of achieving Magnet was becoming prohibitive, in 2003, the Texas Nurses Association developed "Texas Nurse Friendly" guidelines that could be implemented with very little cost. Adoption of these guidelines - which reflected the core principles that were identified in the original Magnet research - resulted in hospitals receiving a "Nurse Friendly" designation. Our program has been so successful that --- ANA saw an opportunity to make more money & developed their own "Pathway to Excellence" program based on ours.

Here we go again . . .

Well said! Very well said!

The problem I think is that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. I worked at a couple magnet facilities in which the work conditions for nursing was horrific and the turnover rate was ridiculous. They may have been "magnet" but it sure didn't feel like it. Is this something that the States should look into like Texas did (Texas wins again! Too bad they still have the Dallas Cowboys...) or should this be done on a hospital-by-hospital or organizational level?

Personally, the more I'm in nursing the more I think the ANA has their heads stuck in the dark ages. I continuously hear about "legitimizing the practice of nursing", but so many decisions they make or recommend are hurting much more than helping. For example, with the rise of medical protocols, has the nursing diagnosis outlived its usefulness? How many actually use that in their practices? I haven't seen hide nor hair since nursing school.

I digress. $200,000 for Magnet? How big was the facility? Inpatient/outpaitnet/both? Are their renewal requirements or is it a one-time cost? I know that there are subsequent manhour costs for committee meetings, shared governance, materials, etc, but is this like JCAHO where there is a renewal fee? If it were up to me, if you really want to improve your nursing you could take that 200 grand and hire 3 nurses. That would sure help...

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