Why are magnet hospitals bad?

golson · Feb 19, 2015

Maybe we use that word in different ways? I meant it to mean upset or indignant, which is exactly how I expect somebody having their livelihood threatened to feel. It also seems to be the way things have been trending for quite som time, and doesn't seem unique to magnet hospitals.

klone, MSN, RN · Feb 19, 2015

When our new hires three years ago were told they must have a BSN by the end of 2015, I was told it was because we were trying to get magnet status and the goal was 80% BSN nurses. Nurses even have a hard time transferring to other units within the hospital without a BSN, because each dept wants 80% BSN nurses. I never verified that this was a requirement but many hospitals are treating it like it is.

I'm not sure how this took hold. Magnet makes NO recommendations for degree held by floor nurses (they do want nurses to be credentialed, no big shocker there since they're the ones that make money off credentialed nurses).

The Institute of Medicine came out with a recommendation that all hospitals should strive for a 80% BSN rate on their nurses by 2020. But they have nothing to do with Magnet or the ANCC.

klone, MSN, RN · Feb 19, 2015

http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Resources/aaccprograms/health/hpat/Documents/RN_F3_magnet.pdf

Above is a link to a white paper on Magnet, with a pretty obvious bias against it (it was published by the American Association of Community Colleges) and it goes into detail about how Magnet does NOT require or recommend a minimum education for staff nurses.

calivianya, BSN, RN · Feb 19, 2015

I have a lot more unnecessary things to do at the Magnet hospital I work at now that the non-Magnet hospital I did before. I already have my BSN, so that is not a factor.

- I have more charting to do.

- We have a monthly newsletter with hospital updates that it's mandatory to complete.

- We have a separate monthly education that has to be completed.

- We have huddle before every single shift, which takes up to 15 minutes sometimes - so then we have less time to get and give report (oh, and we have to justify why we clock out late, it doesn't seem to matter that huddle takes up half the time for report)

- Protocols are constantly changing. At least once a month a major change is made to at least one protocol, such as how we check and treat patient blood sugars. We have to do mandatory education related to all of these changes.

- We have vastly inferior supplies, things that I considered very basic at my last job aren't even stocked anywhere in the facility.

- We have very old, outdated equipment and a lot of it malfunctions regularly - which wouldn't be so embarrassing if this was a tiny community hospital, but we have more than 900 beds and are supposedly an "elite" hospital. When we go through six different IV pumps just to find one that doesn't alarm bag empty when the bag is still full, and interrupt a critical drip like a vasopressor every time the pump starts alarming because the pump won't run if it things the bag is empty, and the pump thinks the bag is empty every ten minutes...

I don't know how much of this is related to my hospital being Magnet, but it's a much more obnoxious work environment than my non-Magnet job in the exact same type of unit with the exact same patient population and acuity.

TriciaJ, RN · Feb 19, 2015

Magnet might have been a good idea at one time, but like everything else in hospitals, becomes smoke and mirrors. The only study that has any credibility is the one where patients have better outcomes if the hospital is properly staffed. That means, whatever a patient needs, there is someone there who can do it. But that costs money. Nursing payroll is a major hospital expenditure and the bean-counters are always looking for a way to slice and dice.

But they always manage to find money for a prettier lobby and other cosmetics. I didn't realize having Magnet cost so much but I have seen up close all the silly hoops that need to be jumped through. And all I can think is "Why can't they just hire some damned staff?" If it's all about retaining the best nurses, wouldn't meal and coffee breaks be more magnetic?

Stalirris · Feb 19, 2015

Our system just went through it's 3rd Magnet survey. We are still waiting to hear if we passed.

Magnet means nothing to the patients. They don't know what it is even though we've been designated for such a long time. At this point, I barely know what it means anymore because it has never become what it was touted to be.

Here are some things that stick out:

Increased documentation on patients.
Increased work for yearly competencies done on our own time.
Unit Council is supposed to be run by the staff but it's always been a group who are delegated to by the manager. It's like she's the queen and they are the sycophants.
Major pressure to obtain the BSN: no matter how close to retirement the staff are or how long they have been employed. Threats they will lose their jobs if they don't matriculate. Despite some posters minimizing this issue, it is a deal breaker for any new hires or moving within the system. This is a huge deal and administration specifically cites Magnet as the driving force.
Major pressure to become certified.
No increase in staffing or even staffing by acuity.
Minor bump in tuition reimbursement before the 1st Magnet survey and none since.
Nausea inducing amount of talk about EBP but only when it benefits the system.
Not working towards the BSN, or certification, will directly affect the yearly review which controls raises even though some of the staff, that have neither, are precepting and the go-to for patient problems and questions.

Don't get me wrong. I work for one of the best systems in my area. I am disappointed that Magnet is nothing more than a money generator for the ANCC, who, by the way, is the major supplier of certifications in nursing. Being certified before Magnet was a feather in your cap, now it's a requirement for all areas of nursing in the hospital.

We are an oppressed population and Magnet was touted as being an empowering force for bedside nursing. It's just another yoke we have to haul. I did end up getting my BSN but only as a means of escape.

anon456, BSN, RN · Feb 19, 2015

http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Resources/aaccprograms/health/hpat/Documents/RN_F3_magnet.pdf
Above is a link to a white paper on Magnet, with a pretty obvious bias against it (it was published by the American Association of Community Colleges) and it goes into detail about how Magnet does NOT require or recommend a minimum education for staff nurses.

I admit I never did the research to verify the 80% BSN thing vs Magnet status. I wonder why these two things are being linked together? What would be the motivation for the 80% BSNs?

danielle2000, MSN, RN · Feb 20, 2015

My reason for getting my BSN was for me and me alone. I think it is insane to tell a nurse who has mad skills and experience to get a BSN to make them look good; because it is assumed it will substantiate her experience! I think having a certification in the area one works would suffice. My hospital is doing the same thing and I am honestly not impressed because I know for a fact when I started my MSN FNP program it was nothing but drama getting days off for classes and hateration from staff members. I was not looking for preferential treatment just help me out in turn I would work more Sundays or something to off set my extra Saturdays off. After that crap I went part-time and went to another hospital to pick up another shift so now I will work only 2 days a week no more no less!!!

windsurfer8, BSN, RN · Feb 20, 2015

It doesn't matter though...all the poster was saying is there are jobs that will only be open to BSN nurses. No one is saying ADN nurses are not as capable as BSN. They are saying there are more upper level opportunities if you have your BSN. It is like saying a person with a masters in biology should be able to have the same job as someone with a PhD. The degree allows for more opportunities. It is not a skill grade.

Dream Catcher · Feb 20, 2015

The hospital I work for is Magnet Status. They are actually working on some new "status" thing right now and they are expecting to be recognized as being in the top 1% of hospitals in the nation. I cannot remember what the specific name they used was..... It is an excellent hospital and I am proud to say I work there. So far, I love it. If that ever changes I will let people know. I see that many people have mentioned that when a hospital wants magnet status they want their nurses to get a BSN. This is not a problem for me. I will be finished with mine in a few months. I am planning on earning a MSN or possibly a DNP after that, so the continuing education is not a problem for me.

TriciaJ, RN · Feb 20, 2015

It doesn't matter though...all the poster was saying is there are jobs that will only be open to BSN nurses. No one is saying ADN nurses are not as capable as BSN. They are saying there are more upper level opportunities if you have your BSN. It is like saying a person with a masters in biology should be able to have the same job as someone with a PhD. The degree allows for more opportunities. It is not a skill grade.

Actually, there are a lot of people saying ADN nurses are not as capable as BSN. They even have a "study" that "proves" it. Many threads here on this topic.

danielle2000, MSN, RN · Feb 20, 2015

@windsurfer8 Well if Magnet hospitals are going to hire only BSN that seems to send a clear message that ADN are not suitable for their hospital now. And they want BSN nurses at the bedside. It seems asinine that a nurse with experience working well in his/her unit now has to go back and pursue a BSN for the same job! So I do not know what you point is?