Hospitals with "Magnet" status for meeting high nursing standards were more likely to have higher safe practice adoption rates than non-Magnet facilities, according to a study in the Journal of Nursing Administration.
Magnet hospitals had significantly higher mean composite safe practice scores than non-certified hospitals in 2004 and 2006 (865 points versus 774 points, and 925 points versus 872 points, respectively), according to the study.
With 383 of them around the country, Magnet hospitals often have higher numbers of nursing hours per patient, a higher percentage of registered nurses, and higher levels of competition with other hospitals--characteristics associated with higher levels of adopting and implementing National Qualify Forum Safe Practices, according to a press release.
"Our findings suggest that having more nurses than necessary to meet minimum patient needs is key to adopting these practices, which require activities like conducting meetings, collecting and analyzing data, and reviewing the literature on safe practices," said author Jayani Jayawardhana, assistant professor at the College of Public Health at the University of Georgia.
Yet with hospital cuts to nursing jobs and potential state-mandated nurse-to-patient ratios, the study authors worry that attempts to conserve resources may end up compromising patient care.
"As hospitals continue to search for ways to cut costs in order to survive in the current economy, we are concerned that some cost-cutting measures may have a negative impact on hospitals' ability to adopt safe practices and provide the highest levels of patient care," Jayawardhana said.
Moreover, the authors point out that several non-Magnet hospitals effectively adopted and implemented many or all of the NQF Safe Practices, so the Magnet status isn't a requirement for successfully adopting safe patient care practices.
For more information:
- read the press release
- here's the study abstract
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