Magnet Nursing Association Study

Recruitment of Professional Nurses: The Evidence-Based Magnet Recognition Program®

Magnet hospitals define hospitals that recruit and retain nurses by providing a positive working environment, as well as their excellence in providing high-quality nursing care (Schmalenberg& Kramer, 2008). They are international models for nursing standards. Other hospitals look to magnet organizations for ways to improve their patients’ results, reduce hospital stays, in addition to attracting and keeping the most qualified nursing staff (Yıldırım, Kısa & Hisar, 2012).

In the early 1980s, the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) appointed a task force in hospital nursing practice out of concern for the numerous workforce issues that the profession was currently

As noted by the variables just mentioned, the nurses specifically wanted a leadership and organizational structure that supported Participatory involvement, as well as flexibility for work scheduling and personal/professional development. In addition, nurses wanted to work in an institution that had a clearly defined professional practice model that used the skills and knowledge of the professional nurse.

Today, many health institutions have been accredited in accordance with the criteria of the Magnet Registration program by the American Nurses Credentialing Centre (ANCC) within the ANA (ANCC, 2011) In (Yıldırım, Kısa & Hisar, 2012).

Aiken and colleagues (1994) examined mortality rates in 39 Magnet hospitals and 195 control hospi¬tals using multivariate matched control sampling. Magnet hospitals had a significantly lower mortality rate (4.6% lower) for Medicare patients than that of control hospitals. The Magnet-designated hospitals’ cultures provided higher levels of autonomy al control of practice and fostered stronger professional relationships among nurses and physicians than did non-Magnet-designated hospitals (In Huber, 2014, p.

Magnet hospitals are an example of a positive cul¬ture that affects nurse and patient outcomes. Today, Magnet recognition is considered the gold standard for excellence in nursing, although at this time it largely applies only to the acute care, hospital envi¬ronment (Wolf, 2006).

Hospitals that want to achieve magnet status must meet the 14 Forces of Magnetism identified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC, 2004, 2008). Research that measures the Magnet hospital standards focuses on eight characteristics of an excellent work environment: clinically competent peers, collaborative nurse-MD relationships, clinical autonomy, support for education, perception of adequate staffing, nurse manager support, control of nursing practice, and patient-centered values (Schmalenberg & Kramer,