Magnet Recognition Program (nursing)
The Magnet Recognition Program is an initiative by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) aimed at identifying and promoting health care organizations that excel in nursing practices. To achieve the prestigious "Magnet Status," organizations must meet specific criteria that demonstrate their commitment to high-quality nursing care and staff retention. The program began in 1981 as a research project to determine the characteristics of hospitals with exemplary nursing staff and has since evolved to include various health care facilities, including long-term care institutions.
Magnet Status is associated with several positive outcomes, such as increased job satisfaction among nurses, lower turnover rates, effective workplace conflict resolution, and improved patient care. Facilities that attain this status often report enhanced pride among staff, which can lead to better patient outcomes. However, there are concerns that some organizations may become complacent after achieving Magnet Status, potentially leading to a decline in the quality of care.
As of December 2016, there are 447 Magnet-designated facilities across six countries, reflecting the program's international impact on nursing excellence. The recognition serves as a marker for quality in health care, guiding patients and families in their choices while also promoting better working conditions for nurses.
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Magnet Recognition Program (nursing)
The Magnet Recognition Program is an initiative run by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) that is intended to compare and promote health care organizations with strong nursing staffs. To qualify as part of the program—a designation called "Magnet Status"—health care organizations are required to demonstrate their compliance with a pre-established set of criteria. Magnet Status health care organizations, which may include hospitals, clinics, and other health care facilities, are characterized by their ability to attract and retain nurses deemed to be among the best in their profession. This program is one of the barometers used by U.S. News & World Report to rank hospitals in its annual survey of the American medical system.
Overview
The ANCC is a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association (ANA), a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to addressing workplace issues in nursing. The Magnet Recognition Program was initially begun in 1981 as part of a research project initiated by the American Academy of Nursing (AAN), a branch of the ANA, to determine how hospitals identified and prioritized nurses deemed to be particularly good at their jobs. To examine why these top nurses stayed at particular health care facilities, the task force created a set of parameters to identify the best hospital nursing staffs. Of the 155 hospitals originally considered, only forty-six met the standards of these criteria. From there, the group then sought to identify the shared characteristics of these institutions and use them to promote better health care on a national basis.
The group ultimately identified a set of fourteen common traits. Researchers found that these health care institutions shared elevated levels of reported job satisfaction by nurses, low staff turnover, good workplace conflict mediation, strong nurse-oriented research programs, and high rates of positive patient outcomes. The research also showed that such institutions had noticeably better care for patients than those that did not have these characteristics. Because of this work, the ANA established the Magnet Hospital Recognition Program for Excellence in Nursing Service as a forerunner to the Magnet Recognition Program, and named the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle as the first designee of this elevated status in 1994. Over time, the program has broadened to include long-term care facilities and other health care institutions.
The staffs of health care institutions have been shown to have higher rates of job satisfaction and pride in their workplace after transitioning to Magnet Status. This often translates to even better patient care on a long-term basis. However, research has also indicated that at some facilities, once the institution has attained the elevated prestige that comes with Magnet Status, less effort is made to maintain or improve conditions by the administration. In other words, strong effort is often made to gain the prestige of Magnet Status, but these facilities may then see a reversion to prior standards having earned this heightened level of recognition. Nonetheless, many nursing groups and health care researchers acknowledge that the program has tremendous potential value to improve the working conditions of nurses and enable better overall health care in the United States and abroad.
As of December of 2016, 447 facilities in six countries have been designated as Magnet Status facilities. The full list is available at the American Nurses Credentialing Center website.
Bibliography
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