The Importance of Magnet Status and Nursing
- Fri, 7/2/10 - 12:25pm
- 4 Comments
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Blog by: Melanie T. Gura, RN, MSN, CNS, CCDS, FHRS, FAHA and Jane A. Soposky, RN, MSN, NEA-BC , Administrative Director, Patient Care Services, Summa Health Systems, St. Thomas Hospital
The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) developed the national Magnet Hospital Recognition Program® in 1980.[1] Hospitals that receive a magnet designation are referred to as “Magnet Hospital.” It is the highest honor a hospital can receive for its nursing service. The purpose of magnet status is to recognize healthcare organizations that provide excellence in nursing, growth and development of the nursing staff, and an environment that supports professional nursing practice.
The term “magnet” refers to the concept of attracting and retaining quality nurses and the ability of creating a work environment that recognizes and rewards professional nursing practice. This designation fosters a positive work environment and a sense of pride among the nurses. The core values include empowerment, pride, mentoring, respect, nurturing, integrity and teamwork.
The ANCC developed eligibility criteria[2] which should exist within the healthcare organization:
• Nursing leadership is a single governing authority (chief nurse officer [CNO]) ultimately responsible for standards of nursing practice in all areas, and the CNO must participate in the organization's strategic planning/decision making;
• The American Nurses Association's Scope and Standards (2004) for nursing administration should be implemented;
• Protected feedback policies/procedures must be in place;
• Data collection must include nurse-sensitive quality indicators;
• There must be regulatory compliance with local, state, and federal laws; and
• The organization must not have any unfair labor practice claims for at least 3 years (from the time of application).
Each Magnet Hospital must demonstrate 14 standards based on the “forces of magnetism,” which include quality nursing leadership, effective organizational structure, effective management style, promotional opportunities for nurses, professional models of care, quality care, quality assurance, expertise available to staff, high level of autonomy, active community outreach, positive teaching experiences for nurses, positive perceptions of nurses, positive nurse-physician relationships and high emphasis on personal growth and development. However, in 2008, the process was simplified and the 14 forces were categorized into five components. They include empirical outcomes, new knowledge innovations and improvement, transformational leadership, exemplary professional practice and structural empowerment. The focus of the new model is to demonstrate the outcomes made possible through the organization’s nursing service structure and processes for the patient, nursing workforce, organization and consumer.
In our profession, pursuing magnet status is equivalent to an Olympic gold medal.[3] Magnet status will assure patients a proven level of quality of nursing care and should result in acquiring the most advanced medical technology as well as the knowledge to apply it. It should also result in a proven patient safety record and shorter lengths of stay for patients.
References
1. Cox KS, Carroll C, Sexton K. Achieving Magnet status: demonstrating nursing excellence. Kansas Nurse 2005;80(7):1-2.
2. http://www.nursecredentialing.org/Magnet.aspx
3. Moore VM, Sharkey K. Magnet Hospitals Going for the Gold in Nursing. Nursing 2001;31(11):82-83.
Magnet status can be a wonderful feather in the "cap" of any hospital or medical center and Nursing should be proud to have this recognition. That being said it has to be linked to patient outcome or it is not worth the paper it is written on. We need to be aware that the fix to every problem is NOT another paper or form to fill out for the bedside nurse! All this paperwork is just keeping her from seeing the patient, we can look great on paper but if the nurse is not "hands on" with the patient what good does this do? I believe Magnet Status can and should be a wonderful thing for every nurse in the institution but, I am not convinced we are there yet.
Reply to this comment »I work in a Magnet Status hospital yet we struggle day in and day out to provide adequate staffing. I often hear from numerous floor nurses that they are "fed up", "we are burned out", "management doesn't care" and "Magnet means nothing to me when they don't care about their people", "they come off as slave drivers" and finally, " staffing is all about saving a dollar". It makes me wonder isn't nursing satisfaction apart of Magnet Status? Afterall, it is supposed to have a component on nursing retention. This isn't safe nursing. The current economic crisis the country has been in has a lot to do with it. I can only hope that when giving Magnet Status to a hospital that it can somehow visit the hospitals, unannounced.
Reply to this comment »I have to agree with Anonymous, I think the hardest area for institutions to improve is in structural empowerment. Simply creating forms and stacking more documentation into either the written or Electronic Medical Records (EMR) for the purposes of warding off regulators and attracting certification has seriously impaired the ability of the bedside nurse to function efficiently. Our institution recently became the first in our state to achieve Pathways to Excellence, and all of the mid- and upper-level management are bursting with pride, on the backs of those actually providing the caring. We, too, are seeking Magnet status, and ironically the downturn in the economy may provide some of the job retention statistics needed to achieve that goal. I would bet that even in institutions already designated as Magnet the average bedside nurse has no conception of the ANA Scope and Standards for nursing administrators, nor of the requirement for CNO participation in strategic planning...
The real key to improvement at every level is ongoing education, a resource that is being depleted by budget cuts spawned by the reliance of institutions on state and federal funds that are close to, or beyond, exhaustion. The introduction of federal funding of health care in the 1960's brought with it a tremendous burden of regulation and inefficiency, passed on to the states as unfunded mandates for documentation and justification that are about to become worse under the health insurance reform legislation. For my entire 30 years at the bedside I have heard the refrain 'do more with less,' but the reality is we are doing less with more because of the amount of documentation required to justify the caring.
J.D. Rayl, RN BSN CCRN
Reply to this comment »MSN (ACNP) student nurse
ALbuquerque, NM
I have to partially disagree with J.D. Rayl. The educational opportunities are plentiful at UNMH. Between the free CEU courses offered in the BATVAVE, the free CEU courses offered through Swank on line, the free OPD classes offered on topics like stress management, time management, etc, and the free seminars, meetings, and newletters (many on Magnet issues), there is no reason that nurses in this facility don't understand what it means to achieve Magnet status, how to measure their care with achieved outcomes, etc. Like everything worthwhile, individuals just need to research the Magnet model, nursing standards of care, and other issues.
Terry Norvell, BSN, MS, RNC
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