RN to BSN Programs and Magnet Hospitals: Why the Connection Matters

Today's hospitals face numerous clinical and operational challenges that highly trained and consistently supported nurses are well-equipped to address. From infection control to chronic condition management to technological integration, nurses enjoy plenty of opportunities to support patients — yet they often lack the influence or resources needed to drive positive change.

The magnet model aims to change this, encouraging hospitals and other healthcare organizations to adopt frameworks and strategies that enhance nursing environments and culture and, by extension, foster excellence in nursing. Success stories demonstrate that, in the effort to become a magnet hospital, many organizations adopt measures that improve everything from workplace culture to patient outcomes.

While a range of priorities shape the magnet journey, nursing education can play a fundamental role in ensuring that healthcare organizations meet the rigorous standards surrounding magnet designation, namely as they relate to nursing empowerment and professional development. The RN to BSN, in particular, supports the overarching magnet mission and all it represents: innovative, evidence-based and patient-centered care that expands nurses' influence while fueling both personal satisfaction and organizational success.

The following sections highlight the value of magnet recognition for hospitals, especially in regard to individual nursing journeys — plus how nurses can support this mission through bachelor-level training.

What Is a Magnet Hospital?

A healthcare facility qualifies as a Magnet hospital if it earns formal recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Magnet hospitals meet high standards established by ANCC, demonstrating a commitment to supporting nurses and nursing excellence. By striving for and meeting rigorous criteria, a Magnet hospital sets the benchmark for optimal patient care. This is exemplified by the Nebraska-based Methodist Health System, a long-standing Magnet-recognized organization. As a key clinical partner of Nebraska Methodist College (NMC), Methodist Health System provides students with exposure to Magnet-level nursing environments that reflect the expectations and culture of high-performing healthcare organizations.

Gold Standard for Nursing Practice and Innovation

Magnet hospitals are widely regarded as a hallmark of modern nursing practice, especially when it comes to professional development and nursing empowerment. The process of becoming Magnet-recognized is rigorous by nature, with only 8% of U.S. hospitals achieving Magnet designation. The prestige of this designation is further evidenced by the reality that just 2% of hospitals manage to achieve Magnet designation at least five times.

The true gold standard arrives with the label "Magnet with Distinction," which ANCC has established to recognize healthcare organizations that exceed the scoring thresholds to become Magnet hospitals. As ANCC clarifies, this "raises the bar to recognize top-tier organizations that have achieved the highest level of nursing excellence."

American Nurses’ Credentialing Center (ANCC)

The concepts fueling the previously described Magnet hospital meaning are driven by the American Nurses Credentialing Center — an American Nurses Association (ANA) subsidiary that recognizes both individual nurses and entire organizations for excellence in patient care and nursing innovation.

While many nurses associate ANCC with individual, specialization-driven certifications such as the Ambulatory Care Nursing Certification (AMB-BC) and the Family Nurse Practitioner Certification (FNP-BC), the organization-focused services ANCC provides are just as influential. ANCC is committed to promoting best practices at the organizational level, recognizing that this can have a profound impact on nurses and patients alike.

What Does It Mean to Be a Magnet Hospital?

The origins of the Magnet hospital emerged in 1983 via a task force initiated by the American Academy of Nursing (AAN). This identified dozens of work environments that attracted and retained the most skilled nurses of the time. AAN's task force also identified several Forces of Magnetism — distinguishing characteristics that reveal how nurses can thrive and how, through gaining this sense of empowerment, they can fuel positive change on behalf of patients and entire communities.

The core function of a Magnet hospital remains consistent with those early proposals, but with expanded Forces of Magnetism, categorized within meaningful groups known as “components.” Broadly speaking, Magnet hospitals have a reputation for achieving these impressive outcomes:

Strong Work Environment

One of the central priorities of the Magnet mission is to cultivate workplaces that actively support nurses. This means prioritizing workload management (backed by sufficient staffing) to help nurses avoid burnout. In a desirable work environment, nurses also feel as if their perspectives are taken seriously; they are empowered to speak up, confident that their ideas will be taken into account and, when relevant, put into practice.

Nursing Excellence

ANCC frequently references the concept of "nursing excellence," in which nurses adhere to high clinical standards while also consistently exemplifying professional integrity. The Magnet Recognition Program offers a clear roadmap to achieving excellence in nursing through research integration and structural support.

Director of Nursing Research Rebekah Thacker expands on these concepts by identifying three main qualities that contribute to nursing excellence:

Advancing practice through education and professional development.
High-quality care delivery emphasizing the nursing code of ethics and standards of practice.
Changing healthcare by engaging, enhancing, elevating and excelling.

If promising research regarding strong Magnet hospital outcomes is any indication, many Magnet-recognized providers have already made notable progress in their quest for nursing excellence — and through ongoing accountability via the re-designation process, they can continue to strive for supportive environments and high standards of care.

Innovations in Nursing Practice

Magnet hospitals prioritize innovation, striving for new solutions that elevate patient care. One of the core Magnet components, after all, involves "new knowledge, innovation, and improvements," prioritizing "new models of care, application of existing evidence … and visible contributions to the science of nursing." These innovations may relate to nursing models or could involve cutting-edge technological integrations.

Quality Patient Outcomes

The qualities highlighted above coalesce to form a key advantage of the Magnet model: Magnet hospitals achieve excellent patient outcomes because they employ highly skilled nurses and provide those nurses the support they need. A wealth of research documents positive outcomes, including everything from reduced pressure ulcers to less-frequent falls and even significant reductions in mortality rates.

How Hospitals Achieve Magnet Status

ANCC provides detailed guidance surrounding Magnet status eligibility, clarifying that qualifying hospitals must demonstrate excellence across several domains. Essentials include:

Transformational Hospital Leadership

The quest to achieve Magnet status begins at the leadership level. Visionary executives, managers or administrators must cultivate a culture of innovation and collaboration, all while articulating a clear vision for excellence at all levels of care. As the Magnet model explains, this transformational mindset "requires vision, influence, clinical knowledge and a strong expertise relating to professional nursing practice."

Structural Empowerment of Nurses

Nursing support and empowerment should be built into the very structure and culture of healthcare organizations, with nurses not only granted the autonomy needed to exercise clinical judgment but also gaining the authority to help shape broader nursing policies or practices. Characteristics associated with nursing empowerment include:

Shared decision-making
Influential nurses
Lifelong professional development
Strong community partnerships

Excellent Professional Nursing Practice

We've already discussed the cornerstones of "nursing excellence" as highlighted by the ANCC. But during the process of gaining recognition, this is proven through the consistent delivery of evidence-based, patient-centered care, prioritizing safety and compassion while drawing upon clinical expertise.

Additionally, Wolters Kluwer references the need for "clinical practice ability," demonstrating how competent nurses "perform adaptive, evidence-informed decision-making, use clinical reasoning to solve complex nursing problems, and provide high-quality nursing care."

Fostering Knowledge, Innovations and Improvements

Innovation encourages clinical professionals to respond to emerging challenges and opportunities, adapting workflows or care as needed to better serve their patients and the wider community. These innovations should be grounded in evidence and guided by ethical priorities.

Drawing attention to the effort to operationalize this critical Magnet component, an overview of innovation-oriented strategies at Penrose-St. Francis Healthcare Services demonstrates how the provider promotes a "culture of inquiry" within its professional practice model (PPM), also using interdisciplinary collaboration and continuing education programs to fuel innovation.

Higher Standards of Patient Care

Magnet hospitals prioritize exceptional patient care by developing systems that guide safety and responsiveness at all levels of nursing. These encompass evidence-backed care delivery models adapted to reflect unique needs across various patient populations. Within Magnet environments, nurses have the support and expertise needed to identify concerns early and intervene appropriately.

The Magnet Program's empirical outcomes component exhibits how high-quality care can be demonstrated via measurable enhancements across several domains. As a Wolters Kluwer report clarifies, this component "seeks concrete data on the difference a hospital has made."

Re-Designation Process

The re-designation process ensures that magnet hospitals continue to maintain high standards. This can be just as rigorous as the initial Magnet Recognition process, and as mentioned previously, many hospitals fail to achieve re-designation. Those that succeed pursue ongoing improvements in response to increasingly stringent requirements. Key themes surrounding readiness for re-designation include vigilance and a continued commitment to aligning with Magnet standards.

What Does Magnet Hospital Status Mean for Nurses?

The concept of the Magnet hospital originated with the idea that certain environments were more likely to attract qualified nurses. This remains at the heart of the Magnet program and can provide valuable guidance for nurses as they seek employment.

Better Nurse-to-Patient Ratios

Research shows a strong link between high nurse staffing and patient outcomes. Conversely, poor nurse-to-patient ratios are tied to increases in medical errors, along with infections, bedsores and cardiac arrest. The benefits of strong staffing are especially evident within hospitals that also maintain positive working conditions for clinical professionals. For this reason, nurse staffing is often referenced alongside nursing support and workplace culture in quality indicators.

Higher Job Satisfaction and Supportive Culture

Nurses working in Magnet hospitals report high job satisfaction, driven not only by optimal staffing but also because these nurses feel respected and empowered. Furthermore, nurses employed by Magnet-designated facilities thrive because they enjoy camaraderie — gained through positive, nurturing workplace cultures in which support begins at the leadership level but trickles down to create close-knit environments featuring open communication and collaborative problem-solving.

Focus on Nursing Excellence

Nurses take pride in their work and are determined to uphold high standards of clinical practice, yet they frequently lack the support and resources needed to achieve this. As such, ANCC offers targeted guidance for Magnet journeys that involve "creating and sustaining a culture of excellence." Through this effort, nurses feel both valued and driven, and in turn, these qualities join forces to spur continuous improvement.

Emphasis on Nurse Empowerment and Shared Governance

Magnet hospitals prioritize the structural empowerment of nurses, granting them a meaningful say regarding staffing and day-to-day care delivery. Their perspectives should be purposefully integrated into decision-making efforts, ensuring that all policies and workflows reflect the actual needs of nurses and their patients. Through these structured improvements in nursing empowerment, clinical professionals gain confidence and become more likely to show initiative in patient-centered problem-solving.

Benefits of Magnet Hospitals for RN to BSN Students

While Magnet recognition can prompt considerable benefits across the spectrum of nursing, this is particularly meaningful for registered nurses (RNs) who hope to advance in their careers while expanding their own clinical knowledge and professional skill sets. In their quest to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), those employed by Magnet hospitals enjoy the following advantages:

Professional Development and More Supportive Work Environment

While many healthcare organizations encourage professional development, this is built into the very structure of the Magnet journey. Magnet hospitals offer both mentorship and training opportunities as well as the support and flexibility needed for RN to BSN students to find balance between academic and professional demands.

Leadership and Advanced Practice Opportunities

ANCC encourages healthcare organizations to leverage the expertise and leadership qualities of advanced practice providers (APPs) while also promoting advanced degrees among nurse leaders, such as nurse managers and chief nursing officers. This is built into the structure of the Magnet Designation program, so Magnet hospitals are more likely to prioritize advanced education and leadership training among aspiring nurse leaders.

High-Quality Clinical Environments

High-quality clinical environments offer powerful learning opportunities for RN to BSN students, who witness firsthand how evidence-based practice and patient-centered care play out in real-world clinical scenarios. Promising nursing excellence and elevated standards of care, Magnet hospitals ensure that nurses understand what constitutes safe and effective practice — and that they feel motivated to pursue this while applying theory to clinical practice.

Final Takeaway: Importance of Magnet Hospitals

Magnet hospitals reveal what is possible when organizations prioritize nursing excellence and implement frameworks that promote both nursing support and accountability. This program aims to help nurses and hospitals flourish, all while making good on the core goals of improving patient outcomes and satisfaction.

Elevate Your Nursing Career With Nebraska Methodist College (NMC)

Embrace nursing excellence by exploring impactful research and expanding your clinical and leadership skills. You'll find ample support through NMC’s RN to BSN online degree program. Students benefit from clinical experiences within a Magnet-recognized health system and gain exposure to the standards, culture, and expectations of Magnet-designated institutions, including the Nebraska-based Methodist Health System. We offer multiple opportunities that accommodate passion-driven students, including not only RN to BSN pathways but also an accelerated BSN program. These programs are designed to emphasize the qualities prioritized by Magnet hospitals and support graduates in pursuing employment within Magnet-designated institutions and health systems.

Enhance your clinical expertise and your professional influence as you make a meaningful impact within the nursing landscape. Learn more today and discover how you can shape the future of nursing.