A LITERATURE REVIEW ON MAGNET HOSPITALS AND PROFESSIONAL NURSING 1

A Literature Review on Magnet Hospitals and Professional Nursing

Jenny Parish

Ferris State University

A Literature Review on Magnet Hospitals and Professional Nursing

The concept of a “magnet”work environment originated from a 1980’s study to explore what was a successful setting for nursing practice. Currently, magnet recognition is one of the most important efforts in healthcare to recognize a positive work environment (McClure, 2005). “Magnet status is awarded by the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center (ANCC) to hospitals that satisfy a set of criteria designed to measure the strength and quality of their professional nursing practice” (Kaplow, 2008).

Research from this literature review spans from the early 1980’s to the present year. These articles discuss the concept, history and characteristics of a magnet work environment. The first section of this review focuses on the history of the magnet concept. The second section explores characteristics found to be common within magnet work environments. The third section examines nursing outcomes associated within these work environments. The section titled Nursing Assessment of Patient Care Outcomes, discusses the nurses perception of quality patient care in relation to magnet vs. non magnet hospital environments. Articles used in this review were retrieved from online sourcesthrough the Ferris State University library database and through google search.

Background

In the early 1980’s the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) organized a task force to explain how during a time of nursing shortage were some hospitals able to recruit and retain nurses (Upenieks, 2003). Research from the original study to explore characteristics of a successful work environment is discussed in McClure’s article “Magnet Hospitals: Attraction Retention of Professional Nurses”. Research from this study,lead to the development of the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Magnet Hospital Recognition Program for Excellence in Nursing (ANCC, 2011). The article “Magnet Environments for Professional Nursing Practice” This article suggests that a magnet hospital is an organization and practice environment supportive to nursing excellence (Lundmark, 2008).

Characteristics of Magnetism

The original study by McClure (1983)observed commonalities within certain corporations that were referred to as magnet forces. Research revealed that these corporations proved a commitment to quality and lived up to it daily through patient care and support to nurses. The studies of both McClure (1983) and Laschinger (2003) suggest that empowering work environments can influence professionalism and excellence in the quality of patient care. These studies demonstrated evidence that suggests magnet hospital characteristics are correlated with nurses increased satisfaction on the job. The previous articles would be useful to researchers because both articles demonstrate a positive correlation between magnet characteristics in the work environment and job satisfaction in nursing.

Karen Drenkard’s (2010) article “Going for gold: the value of attaining magnet recognition” identifies that characteristics of a magnet environment also include increased nurse autonomy, improved physician/nurse relationship, decreased nurse turnover rate, and better economic performance. The author of this article, Karen Drenkard, is also the director of the American Nurses Magnet Recognition Program. This article is useful because it provides an overview of the benefits associated with magnet recognized hospitals.

Nursing Outcomes

Hess conducted a study based on data collected from the 2010 National Survey of Registered Nurses (NSRN). This study determined that professional organizations and forces contribute to a positive professional environment. This study suggests that s hospital did not necessarily have to be magnet but had to possess these values (Hess, 2011). The article “Nursing Outcomes in Magnet and Non-Magnet Hospitals” waspublished in 2011 in the Journal of Nursing Administration. This articleanalyzes secondary data from a four-state survey of 26,276 nurses in 567 acute care hospitals to evaluate environment in nursing outcomes. Research from this also found that nurses in magnet hospitals reported greater job satisfaction than those non-magnet hospitals (Kelly, 2011). These two articles were listed the same year in the Journal of Nursing Administration.

Nursing Assessment of Patient Care Outcomes

Kramer 2005, published the article “Best quality patient care; a historical perspective on magnet hospitals. This article describes the development of the association between recognition for nursing excellence and improved patient outcomes. In 2008, Linda Aiken published the article “Transformative Impact of Magnet Designation: England case study”. This article discusses a hospitals journey to magnetism and the impact of preparing and achieving magnet status. The research in this article also supports the nurses’assessment ofan improved quality of patient care in association with a magnet environment. These articles stimulate further research into expanding the magnet concept to include all of patient care delivery while in the hospital, not limited to excellence in nursing (Kramer, 2011).

Conclusion

In the 15 scholarly articles I reviewed for this paper, all research studies suggests a positive trend in quality patient care and nursing satisfaction in magnet vs. non-magnet hospitals. These scholary articles provide evidence that proves work environments possessing magnet characteristicspromote increased job satisfaction in nursing and improved delivery of patient care. It is important to consider Upenieks (2003) article, “What’s the Attraction to Magnet Hospitals”, also supports this conclusion. This article explores common characteristic in magnet environmentsorganizational efforts to attract and retain valuable employees.

References

Abraham, J., Jerome-D’Emilia, B., Begun, J.W., (2011). The diffusion of magnet hospital recognition. Health Care Management Review, 36(4), 306-14. Retrieved from

Aiken, L.H., Buchan J., Ball, J., Rafferty, A.M., (2008). Transformative impact of magnet designation: England case study. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 17(24), 3330-3337. doi:10.1111/j.1365.2702.2008.02640.x

American Nurses Credentialing Center. (2011). History of the magnet program. Retrieved from

American Nurses Credentialing Center. (2011). Magnet Recognition Program Model. Retrieved from

Drenkard, K., (2010). Going for the gold: The value of attaining magnet recognition. American Nurse Today, Vol.5. No. Retrieved from

Hess, R., Desroches, C., Donelan, K., Norman, L., Buerhaus, P.I., (2011). Perceptions of nurses in magnet hospitals, non-magnet hospitals, and hospitals pursuing magnet status. Journal of Nursing Administration, 41(7-8), 315-23. doi: 10.1097/NNA.0b013e31822509e2

Kaplow, R., Reed, K.D., (2008). The AACN synergy model for patient care: A nursing model as a force of magnetism. Nursing Economics. 26(1). 17-25. Abstract retrieved from

Kelly, L.A., McHugh, M.D., Aiken, L.H., (2011). Nurse outcomes in magnet and non-magnet hospitals. Journal of Nursing Administration, 41(10). 428-33. Abstract retrieved from

Kramer, M., Schmalenburg, C.E. (2005).Best quality patient care: A historical perspective on magnet hospitals.Nursing Administration Quarterly, (3), 275-87. Retrieved from

Laschinger, H.K., Almost, J., Tuer-Hodes, D., (2003). Workplace empowerment and magnet hospital characteristics: making the link. Journal of Nursing Administration. 33(7-8). 410-22. Abstract retrieved from

Lundmark, V.A., (2008). Magnet environments for professional nursing practice. Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses (Ch. 46). Retrieved from

McClure, M.L., Poulin, M.A., Sovie, M.D. (2002). Magnet hospital: Attraction and retention of professional nurses

McClure, M.L., (2005). Magnet hospitals: Insights and issues. Nursing Administration Journal. Vol. 29. No. 3. 198-201. Retrieved from www.

Sherman, R., Pross, E., (2010). Growing Future Nurse Leaders to Build and Sustain Healthy Work Environments at the Unit Level. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, Vol. 15, No. 1, Retrieved from

Upenieks, V.V., (2003). What’s the attraction to magnet hospitals? Nursing Management. Volume. 34. No. 2. 43-44. Retrieved from