NurseWeek News

What Nurses Want
Do your part to ensure magnet program remains relevant and reflective of nurses' needs

By Carol Bradley, MSN, RN, California Editor
October 21, 2002

What do nurses want? What do nurses need? These are important questions in a world that does not have enough nurses and in an industry that is just discovering the real value of nurses' contributions to health care.

It reminds me of a funny, yet touching movie, "What Women Want." Mel Gibson's character suddenly can hear everything women are thinking as he passes them on the street, at work and in social settings. His new insights change the way he views women, including his teenage daughter, his new boss/girlfriend and, ultimately, how he designs a successful advertising strategy focused on women.

In our case, I know a lot of people who are trying to read the minds of nurses right now. What do nurses want? Can it be so easily defined? What will attract a nurse to one employer/position/setting over another? Are there environmental characteristics that serve as primary attractors?

The Magnet Hospital Recognition Program has identified those workplace philosophies and characteristics that have demonstrated the ability to attract and retain nurses. Although many nurse leaders are familiar with the Magnet program and many recent reports have promoted its adoption, most nurses are just learning about it. It is an important concept for all of us to understand and be able to apply. After all, it is a program designed to reflect what nurses want most in the workplace today.

Two hospitals in California have achieved Magnet status-UC Davis Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles-and many more are in the application process. We should celebrate those hospitals that have achieved this recognition. It is important to note that there are many more hospitals that can't afford it, but deserve recognition because of their equally successful work cultures.

Although strong and visionary nursing leadership is an essential ingredient to achieving Magnet status, the most important prerequisite is a willing and motivated nursing staff appropriately employed to build and create the necessary work culture. It also takes a board, administration and medical staff that can demonstrate their sincere belief in nursing. It's difficult to fake it. Like any business attempting to create value, the process is labor-intensive and expensive. (Yes, even getting a copy of the standards costs money.)

However, not unlike the challenges the JCAHO is facing today, the Magnet Hospital Recognition Program will have to demonstrate its continued value and relevance in a rapidly changing profession and health care delivery system. If the Magnet program becomes overly prescriptive and does not value creativity and innovation, it will lose the support of the nursing community. I prefer to believe that our profession is so diverse that a multitude of different-yet equally thriving-work environments can prove satisfying for nurses. Given the challenges we are confronting today, Magnet recognition clearly is a worthwhile investment for nurses who want to make meaningful changes in the workplace.

Excellence should be rewarded, and it needs and deserves our recognition.

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