Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management
The enactment of the affordable care act has significantly changed the structure of all health care. As the focus of treatment at health care facilities all across the country transitions from specialty care and acute illnesses to preventative and long term health management, many changes have taken effect that have directly affected the approach and delivery of care. One of the greatest changes is the vast amount of patients that are now seeking health care. In an attempt to keep up with these high demands, many facilities have been left scrambling to adjust their budgets, reduce excess spending, and implement more efficient means of care delivery. Nurses throughout this process have had to adapt to a work environment that is constantly being changed and restructured. As a result, decreased job satisfaction, increased incidence of compassion fatigue, and nurse to patient ratios involving higher acuity levels have all contributed to the vast nursing shortage that is being experienced today. In addition, patient satisfaction scores and Medicare reimbursement have been greatly affected as well. Despite all of the aforementioned issues, there are some facilities that are taking the extra step to recognize and promote nursing excellence by setting the standards higher in an attempt to gain Magnet status. The focus of this writing is to compare and contrast the expectations of the approaches that nurse leaders and managers may use regarding magnet status as well as discuss the approach that most identifies with the values and beliefs of this author.
Magnet status, as defined by Miriam Hospital, is a designation awarded to hospitals for their creation of a “Magnet Culture”; an environment that not only supports nursing practice, but focuses on professional autonomy, decision making at the bedside, nursing involvement in