Standards and Structures

The Influence of Magnet Designation on Nursing Leadership Development in Healthcare Institutions

Abstract Magnet designation refers to a level of distinction that a healthcare facility can complete in order to achieve a higher level of excellence. This paper examines the background of this distinction and how it can potentially force hospitals and the staff teams within them to reach a higher level of quality of care, including better outcomes for patients, and greater satisfaction for members of staff. Examining a range of different research papers on this topic, the findings show without any uncertainty, that magnet certification is beneficial to a hospital or healthcare facility. Magnet distinction causes all the parties involved to work at a higher level of excellence, setting a strong example for all involved. In fact, the research is so compelling in this regard; it shows that when a facility loses its Magnet standing, the facility generally suffers, having less positive outcomes and levels of contentment for team members. Finally, this paper explores what all these findings imply for the good and improvement of the nurse leader.

Introduction

Magnet Designation is a truly elite distinction from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and represents the pinnacle and most prominent acknowledge of excellence a professional healthcare facility can ever achieve. Only 8% of all American hospitals receive this designation, making it a clear platinum standard of superior healthcare delivery (Drenkcard, 2010). However, it’s more than just a distinction or an empty award: magnet designation is a sign of a facility with strong inner-workings marked with efficiency and excellence.
The important aspect of magnet distinction is that it is a performance-driven recognition credential: “Achieving it brings not only external prestige but wide-ranging internal benefits. Evidence is mounting that taking the Journey to Magnet Excellence™ has a dramatic impact on quality, service, cost, and human resource measures” (Drenkcard, 2010). Thus, this designation helps empower organizations to engage in practices that ensure they run a tighter ship, fostering more positive outcomes for people. This is because such a distinction pushes for better clinical practices that are higher in quality. It also helps healthcare professionals to pinpoint superior practices within the greater delivery of nursing services to patients. This recognition also offers a means for sharing and spreading the most ideal methods in nursing services (Drenkcard, 2010).
The research demonstrates that healthcare facilities with this distinction have: “higher percentages of satisfied registered nurses (RNs), lower RN turnover and vacancy, improved clinical outcomes, greater nurse autonomy, and improved patient satisfaction” (Drenkcard, 2010). These better outcomes shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone: hospitals that have reached this level of excellence have done so because they are simply more efficient places and hence better places to work. Hospitals and other facilities who have this designation have engaged in a commitment that was several years long that has forced them to accept a structure that will mean they participate in quality improvement efforts for motivating staff at all levels and supporting everyone as the engage in a career-long journey of improvement and excellence. This most notably includes nursing leadership. Nursing leadership can’t help but thrive in such an environment, as everyone is working to become more seasoned professionals.

Relevant Scholarship

The current literature supports the overall importance of Magnet designation for nurses and highly efficient healthcare facilities. For example, transformational leadership is one of the major aspects connected with the Magnet program. In one research study, “Transformational and transactional leadership styles of nurse managers were positively related to staff nurse overall job satisfaction and satisfaction with opportunity for promotion…. Satisfaction with nurse manager leadership was a positive influence on overall nurse job satisfaction when separately controlling for the influence of each leadership style” (Bormann & Abrahamson, 2014). This finding allowed the researchers to conclude that transformational leadership styles, as part of the Magnet program was so useful it should be taught and fostered among nurse leaders in order to impact the overall level of contentment among staff nurses (Bormann & Abrahamson, 2014). In a similar fashion, another study found that Chief Nursing Officers who were Magnet designated were also well ensconced within their functional and enlightening methods. This study sent surveys to just under 400 Magnet CNOs to assess their leadership practices inventory. The researchers found that, “Those 60 years or older and those with doctorate degrees scored significantly higher in inspiring a shared vision and challenging the process. There was a significant positive relationship between total years as a CNO and inspiring a shared vision and between total scores on the LPI and number of beds in the organization” (Clavelle & Drenkard, 2012). From these findings, the researchers were able to conclude that as CNOs gain more years in the field and more professional development, they start to demonstrate more transformational leaderships traits. This indicates that Magnet facilities should really invest in and retain these CNOs.
Even more provocative was a study conducted on what happened when a hospital lost its Magnet designation. One would wonder if this would mean a reduction in quality or in standards of delivered care. The researchers found that “The cohort of RNs at T2 reported significantly lower work engagement in the time period after the loss of Magnet designation when compared with the RN cohort at T1 during Magnet designation (P ? .0002)” (Wonder et al., 2017). This very startlingly demonstrated how Magnet designation helps to keep standards and quality high: the loss of such a designation implies significantly negative repercussions for participants.
The research almost unequivocally demonstrates that hospitals with Magnet distinction perform better; those without it do worse. Receiving one’s Magnet distinction means that a facility will engage in marked and rapid improvement (Nelson-Brantley et al., 2018). When examining a small rural hospital that undergone the process of transformation to become Magnet-certified, all team members of the facility had to engagement in improvements. “Nurses overcame complex challenges by balancing operational support and fostering relationships. The Magnet journey led to significantly improved nurse and patient outcomes. A new organizational culture centered on shared governance, evidence-based practice, and higher education emerged” (Nelson-Brantley et al., 2018). This led researchers to conclude that even though the journey to becoming Magnet certified is rigorous and demanding, there are definitive and unquestionable benefits to be reaped.

Relationship of Topic to Role of the Nurse Leader

The demands of the nurse leader are incredibly specific. The nurse leader has to set an example for all the nurses under her in the way that she conducts her patient care, record keeping, work habits, and commitment to continuing education. Being a nurse leader means committing to excellence and having enough self-awareness to know that all the nurses beneath one are watching one’s work habits and conduct very closely. It’s a lot of pressure. Magnet distinction can help nurse leaders ensure their work habits are at a high level of excellence, and help these professionals maintain the greatest standards. This empowers nurses to do their work in a superior manner and inspire others. The ability to inspire others is so crucial for a nurse leader, as they have to commonly focus on the bigger picture needs and obligations of the facility they work with. Nurse leaders have the responsibility to spearhead transformation efforts and to make sure the hospital or clinic is on the right path to fulfill long-range plans. Receiving and maintaining one’s Magnet distinction can help empower them to meet the demands of their jobs more completely. This is largely because the nurse leader already has to deal with things like regulatory compliance, fiscal obligations and looking after the overall level of patient care. These are tremendous and substantial responsibilities. Rather than being an additional burden, Magnet distinction acts as a tool for nurse leaders to turn to when they are faced with challenges, obstacles and obligations. Magnet can help empower them to do their jobs with a higher level of excellence, which is crucial for their success.

Conclusion