Organizations within the healthcare system are meant to establish a supportive environment, both for the patients and the employees. As the nursing profession is essential for healthcare, nurses can represent the quality of a medical entity through such programs as Magnet designation. Magnet signifies organizations where nursing leaders can align their strategic goals toward better patient outcomes (American Nurses Credentialing Center [ANCC], n.d.). Healthcare facilities that are awarded by Magnet have better work environments, as the designation suggests ways to advance employment conditions.
The proceeding of earning a Magnet recognition is relatively complicated and has certain prerequisites. The procedure begins with three steps regarding eligibility requirements, the application process, and submission requirements (ANCC, n.d.). Eligibility criteria mandate the applicant organization to have at least one nursing setting where the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), Nurse managers, and Nurse leaders have particular degrees (ANCC, n.d.). The entity also must have implemented specific standards, policies, and procedures (ANCC, n.d.). The application procedure involves completing a form, submitting payment, and providing supportive documents that include but are not limited to the CNO’s resume, facility and nursing organizational charts, and an attestation letter (ANCC, n.d.). Submission requirements concern the two previous steps but also present information about final verification (ANCC, n.d.). Overall, the designation process requires facilities within the healthcare system to analyze their gaps, develop action plans, cooperate with the assigned Program Analyst, educate employees, and transform cultures (ANCC, n.d.). Moreover, each awarded facility must reapply every four years to demonstrate that it maintains the recognition status (ANCC, n.d.). Organizations must be prepared to put extensive effort into attaining Magnet.
Although completing the program can be challenging, Magnet offers sufficient benefits. Firstly, the designation improves patient and nurse satisfaction through higher adoption of safe practices, better support of the evidence-based practice, lower mortality and patient fall rates, and advanced gradings of hospital experience (ANCC, n.d.). Secondly, the Magnet status affects nurse retention through a collaborative culture, which values nurses as integral partners within the organization, and investment in the education and development of nurses (ANCC, n.d.). As a result, the facility is expected to have lower percentages of dissatisfaction, burnout, and turnover among nurses (ANCC, n.d.). Thirdly, the recognition impacts quality outcomes by empowering nurses to perform better, decreasing the length of stay, and increasing net inpatient income (ANCC, n.d.). Moreover, entities with Magnet recognition can display their logo in advertisements and presentations to show commitment to high-quality service to patients, investors, and future employees (ANCC, n.d.). While the program focuses on assessing the nursing staff, it offers advantages to patients and other workers.
Furthermore, Magnet contributes to the establishment of a healthy work environment (HWE), which is necessary for all health care providers. One could choose a nursing home as an example for critiquing an organization based on three of the six characteristics of HWE. The first standard, which also reflects a flaw, is appropriate staffing that requires nurse competencies to correspond with patient needs (Woolforde, 2019). However, nursing homes sometimes cannot find or attract proper employees due to various reasons. The second HWE characteristic is skilled communication, which suggests that nurses must master communication abilities (Woolforde, 2019). Nevertheless, because some nursing homes hire workers without sufficient experience, the transmission of information between employees can be inadequate. As a result, the third standard of HWE, which is a true collaboration, can be hindered (Woolforde, 2019). The three characteristics of a healthy work environment are interconnected and can affect patient outcomes.
The HWE standards are important because they are associated with the competencies of the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN). In particular, appropriate staffing correlates with patient-centered care, as they both concentrate on meeting patient needs (“Qsen competencies,” n.d.; Woolforde, 2019). On the other hand, skilled communication and true collaboration are connected to teamwork and collaboration (“Qsen competencies,” n.d.; Woolforde, 2019). Similar to the two standards, the competency prioritizes the development of communication skills and recognizes the significance of professional collaboration (“Qsen competencies,” n.d.; Woolforde, 2019). Consequently, organizations can move toward a healthier work environment by empowering nurses to enhance their QSEN abilities.
Nurse leaders could utilize Magnet’s specific attributes to generate strategies that would promote or sustain HWE. For example, such a strategy can be based on interventions concerning each of the mentioned HWE characteristics. In particular, an intervention for not hiring appropriate staffing could focus on implementing employee training to facilitate education and development (ANCC, n.d.; Woolforde, 2019). To ensure true collaboration, organizations could concentrate on creating a collaborative culture to demonstrate the nursing profession’s value and increase nurses’ job satisfaction so that they would pursue and foster teamwork (ANCC, n.d.; Woolforde, 2019). An intervention for improving skilled communication could be based on analyzing gaps in the transmission of information to develop relevant action plans (ANCC, n.d.; Woolforde, 2019). Health care providers must critically monitor labor conditions to generate strategies to advance employee happiness and performance.
To summarize, the Magnet designation program signifies organizations within the healthcare system that have a professional nursing team working in a healthy environment. Some standards that characterize HWE include appropriate staffing, skilled communication, and true collaboration. Those characteristics correspond with certain QSEN competencies and can indicate a facility’s problems. Based on identified issues, health care providers can refer to Magnet practices to seek ways for improvement.
References
American Nurses Credentialing Center. (n.d.). ANCC magnet recognition program. Nursing World. Web.
QSEN competencies. (n.d.). Qsen. Web.
Woolforde, L. (2019). Beyond clinical skills. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 35(1), 48–49.