Magnet vs. Nonmagnet

[floridamom79]

Hello..I've come to this site many times before but this is my first time posting. I have been a nurse since May 2006. I have worked on the same unit since I graduated which is a post-open heart unit. I've been working weekend nights along with one night a week until recently. In January I started working PRN days on my unit. I really like my new schedule. The unit can be stressful at times...but I know what to expect. Recently I've been called by a hospital for a similar position, the only major difference is that this hosptal is a Magnet hospital where the hospital that I am currently at is not. Some of my friends tell me that I should seriously consider the Magnet hospital. What exactly are the benefits of working for a magnet hospital? Any advice or info would be great! Thanks :)!

[ukstudent]

If you do a search on here you will find out that Magnet is just a name that the Hospital has bought with a lot of money that could have been spent on hiring more nurses or getting more equipment. That said some magnet hospitals are great and some are not so great to work for. You need to check out the reputation of that particular hospital and floor.

Ask to do a share day. You could always do prn at the new place while keeping your prn job that you already have. Then you will have time to decide which job to keep.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Magnet can't be bought, but it does take an investment in time and money, as well as buy in from staff. Many people disrespect it and think it's a joke.

A bad nurse can be certified in a specialty just like a bad hospital can be certified Magnet. However, it's not likely. I worked for a magnet facility and when we tried to renew they refused because we were stagnant and didn't grow.

What I'm saying is that I would consider it among other things when you're considering working there. Magnet is a honor and despite what some people think it does say something about the facility. All things being equal between two jobs, I would pick the Magnet facility.

However, if you like your current job and it's working for you, I wouldn't change. Just because it's familiar and longevity a job can work to your advantage.

[ukstudent]

Ok, magnet can not be literally bought. However the last price tag that I heard about was around a half million dollars in order to get it. That's a lot of money that could be directed elsewhere.

I like the idea of magnet hospitals, hospitals that nurses want to work in and have a low turnover. But it doesn't take a half million dollars to work out what the turn over, vacancy rate of a hospital is.

What makes nurses happy in one area of America might be different in another area. The current process of getting magnet forces hospitals and staff to conform to a cookie cutter formula and takes away money that could be used for ideas that might makes nurses want to work there even more, such as on site day care, low staff to pt ratio's, etc.

When a hospital gets magnet status, then makes nurses so miserable they go on strike and can still claim magnet status (due to renewal date not being up), then magnet is a joke.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Points well taken.

Just as there can be a lousy nurse with a CCRN, there can be lousy Magnet hospitals. Magnet facilities have the same problems with low morale, staffing, etc. as any other hospital.

I also can say with much assurance my facility did not pay .5 million to get Magnet. We enhanced many of our existing programs. Of course if you count the countless committee hours many dedicated employees put into getting it, the cost goes up. But that wasn't above and beyond their normal pay, so the cost was absorbed. Also there was an element of peer resistance. The culture seemed to be to scoff and laugh at efforts to get Magnet status, as if it's politically incorrect to like your job.

[yajaira]

This is my opinion since I am a nurse who worked in a Magnet facility for the past 3 years and have recently started working at a non-Magnet facility.

There is a difference.

This is just based on my personal experience.

There is a sense of prgression at a Magnet facility, as a nurse I felt as though my opinions/ideas/concerns/suggestions were not only appreciated but also sought after.

Nurses were collegues and not just people I work with. More respect for everyone.

I also felt as though if I was put in a compromising position...and by that I mean staffing concerns. Pt acuity that sort of thing. I knew I could put my foot down and not be reprimanded.

There is also a great deal of changes in practice...evidenced based research is taken very seriously and it is also encouraged to come up with research ideas and projects on your unit.

If a magnet hospital is trying to recruit you, I would definitely look into it.

I don't recommend burning bridges but it's your career.