opinions on Magnet hospitals?

allnurses Guide · Dec 10, 2010

I worked at a hospital that was, and still is years later, trying to attain Magnet status. For some reason, they still have not been successful in their goal. It always was a decent place to work as far as hospitals go, with fairly low turnover. There were issues that made me personally not want to work there anymore, but it was a place that I often recommended to others looking for a job.

To me, there are very good places to work out there that are not Magnet. I have heard nothing but good things about the Lifepoint hospitals here in KY, but not a single one of them is Magnet.

Conversely, there are more than a handful of Magnet hospitals out there that I'm sure, suck. :)

Ask around, research the places that you think you would want to work, whether they are Magnet or not.

Fribblet · Dec 10, 2010

I'm not impressed with my magnet experience. It's a lot of hype, and a lot of it is for show, imo. Scratch the surface of a magnet hospital, and you'll see the same ol' BS.

TheOldestNurseOnUnit · Dec 10, 2010

I worked at a Magnet facility for 2 1/2 years (left because of moving 50 miles away) and I LOVED it. Nurse governance is a wonderful opportunity to make a difference; loved the feeling that the nurses were very important and it really brought us together.

NurseBlogger, BSN, RN · Dec 10, 2010

Working towards magnet brought many changes for the better. There was a lot of nurse involvement that has only become better post receiving magnet designation. Our hospital had very high standards before magnet, though. I luckily work with a lot of awesome folks. I have worked in 4 hospitals and several areas of nursing. My experience is that the magnet hospital respects nursing more and the professional status of nursing is upheld and supported.

I would encourage anyone who has the chance to become involved in the process. I did not due to many other "irons in the fire" and will always regret it. Don't miss the opportunity!!!!!

Jules A, MSN · Dec 11, 2010

It was all hoopla and once it was over back to the same old crap. The staff was treated pretty miserably imo. The staff I worked with were wonderful, management not so much. The badge holder was the best part of the whole thing. :down:

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2010

Not a damn thing has changed since we achieved Magnet, aside from all of the reminders that we're Magnet.

ChristopherB, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2010

I'm not impressed with my magnet experience. It's a lot of hype, and a lot of it is for show, imo. Scratch the surface of a magnet hospital, and you'll see the same ol' BS.

In reality, it seems that Magnet is more for marketing than for actual improvement for nurses.

I'm very happy to hear the positive experiences that some have had with magnet hospitals. I have no personal experience with them myself, but have read primarily negative postings on here. Stories that told of improvements that would be implemented just prior to magnet certification, then revoked. Nursing committees that were formed on paper, yet never met. I was beginning to wonder about the whole concept....

My employer is a Magnet hospital. They only raise tuition reimbursement when they need to do it to retain magnet status. Many of our committees never meet too.

My employer has very high turnover. They try to hide it by putting people who leave on per diem status, but not having them actually work, ever. Management doesn't listen to issues and suggestions for improvement from the nurses and other staff. Our pay is some of the lowest in the state. Management regullarly violates staffing and scheduling policies. We really aren't self scheduling, despite what the Magnet inspectors are told. Many of our nurse managers aren't qualified for their positions. What hospital hires someone to work as a director who has a 2 year nursing diploma and no other education or training? My Magnet hospital does! Our tuition reimbursement is so low that it will only pay for 85% of the cost of two local college classes per year.

I could give many other examples in addition to what is mentioned above.

MunoRN, RN · Dec 11, 2010

Magnet is what you make of it, depending largely on who initiates it. Nursing staff can use magnet status as a carrot to dangle in front of management to improve patient care and their work environment in exchange for a nice plaque for management to hang in the lobby. On the other hand, it can also be used my management as a carrot to dangle in front of nurses to gain a marketing advantage in the form of magnet status.

The NNU (largest US nursing union) opposes magnet because it is often used to get floor nurses to help bring in more business by attaining magnet status without making any meaningful improvements to patient care or work environment; creating a situation where Nurses may be prioritizing profit margins over the needs of patients.

My hospital is currently well into the process of attaining magnet status and we now have two Beacon award units, which is basically mini-magnet. The standards are really not as stringent as you might think. For instance, patient rooms have to have an outside window, but you're still free to put 20 patients in that little room so long as it has an outside window. The NNU's biggest complaint about Magnet is that it does nothing to address the largest patient care/work environment issue out there which is safe staffing. Magnet only requires that acuity be considered when making patient assignments, although this does not require a smaller ratio for more acute patients, you can satisfy this requirement by simply saying that you try and put more experienced nurses with more acute patients, or that you try and keep a nurses load smaller if they have an insulin drip, but not take into account any other time consuming factors such as other titratable drips or unstable patients.

Chico David, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2010

We can see by the wide range of responses here that the reality of Magnet varies a lot. What seems clear to me is that if a hospital makes a genuine and heartfelt commitment to the stated goals of the program, it can actually be a positive thing. But I strongly suspect that is not the norm. From my limited experience with it and from my reading about it, many hospitals see it as a combination of a marketing tool and as an anti-union distraction. A way to keep nurses busy and give them some illusion of power in order to keep them from organizing for real power.

sheronep, MSN, RN · Dec 11, 2010

What are your opinions about hospitals that are on the journey to magnet status?

My hospital has had magnet designation I believe for at least 6 years now. It was a good place to work before but it's even better now. My unit and hospital in general has a low turnover rate. Nurses are represented by a good union and I have nothing negative to say about it. Everyone I work with enjoys working here and it shows, just watch the original pink glove dance to see for yourself
Now I've recently worked at a non-magnet hospital and it was a very difficult job. First of all the nurse : patient ratio was higher, inadequate work areas, not enough computers, poor charting system. CNA's didn't do squat, the nurses had to take all the vitals while the CNA's posted to Facebook and surfed the Internet. The nurses were very unhappy, grouchy people who were unwilling to help each other. In orientation management painted a whole different story that I most definitely didn't experience while working the floor.

Fribblet · Dec 11, 2010

In reality, it seems that Magnet is more for marketing than for actual improvement for nurses.

From my limited experience with it and from my reading about it, many hospitals see it as a combination of a marketing tool and as an anti-union distraction. A way to keep nurses busy and give them some illusion of power in order to keep them from organizing for real power.

Bam. You both hit the nail on the head. Once a hospital gets Magnet status, you better believe its is on all the commercials, billboards, and all manner of propaganda.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Dec 11, 2010

i would like to hear from some nurses that have worked in both magnet hospitals and non-magnet hospitals about what the difference actually is. do you really see a difference as a bedside nurse? was it something you enjoyed, or did it seem like a lot of hype over nothing?
i've been reading about magnet hospitals recently (as i am planning to move soon and would like to be able to apply to a hospital with magnet status) and have found very interesting reviews. i know that technically magnet indicates a high nurse involvement and typically indicates a very happy nursing workforce with low turnover, however some of the things i've read online say that it's just a label, that nothing is really different, etc. so i would like to know what your experience with a magnet status hospital is, and if you would recommend working in one if given the choice.

i've worked in magnet hospitals and non magnet hospitals. i agree with those who say it's a lot of hype about nothing. i've been happy at non-magnet hospitals -- perhaps happier than at the magnet hospitals. turnover has certainly been much higher at the magnet hospitals where i've worked.

given the choice, i'd say work at the hospital which best meets your needs. magnet status probably won't figure into that very much.