Magnet vs Union vs Not-for -Profit

Published Jul 5, 2015

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I was trying to do some research on how many for-profit vs not-for-profit hospitals had magnet status. I could not really find any specific data but am assuming there are more not-for-profits that are magnet although this could be a faulty assumption. From blogs on this site talking about magnet hospitals it appears that magnet status is only a designation and does not mean that much (although according to the ANCC it is supposed to) and does not mean magnet hospitals are better places to work or have better patient outcomes. For-profit and not-for-profit also does not seem to have a great distinction nationwide (as we all know the name of the game in healthcare is money). I have worked in both for-profit and not-for-profit city and regional hospitals and in my experience not-for-profit hospitals have better working conditions and better nurse-patient ratios but I know other nurses have different experiences. I have never worked in a magnet hospital or a unionized hospital but there are several blogs that suggest unionized hospitals are better places to work regardless of magnet status or profit type. My questions to all nurses out there who have worked in many different types of sites is whether this it is an accurate statement: that unionized hospitals are better places to work? FYI I worked seasonally in a for-profit in the southeast for 8 years and conditions became worse each year. My last year there we had no aides on our acute care unit and excessive nurse patient ratios to the point I had to quit because i was afraid for my license.