Does a hospital having magnet status really make a difference for staff experiences? I am thinking about switching from step down at a magnet facility to a trauma ICU at an academic facility.

Personally, I believe it's ALL about the people of the organization. If you're in a magnet facility with a horrible manager, it won't matter a bit .. you'll be miserable wherever you are with that type of situation. The "good" and "bad" are everywhere.

I'd focus more on how happy are the staff members of the unit you're looking to go to. What is their turnover rate? And why? Example: my facility has serious longevity! People usually leave because they move out of the area or retire. Hard for others to come in due to that. We've had a LOT retire lately, myself included, but we'd been there 20-30+ years, so they've got a lot of new 'blood' in there, and we've welcomed it! They've loved how we all work together and make it a great place to work. We're more like family, and have lots of activities outside of work! However, my manager and director retired a few months after I did, and the new one is NOT making any friends! She's trying to change just about everything, and is rather 'dictatorial' about "stupid stuff", according to my previous co-workers. Several have already left because of her, several more are threatening to, and more than several have already been to administration over it.

So, it's All about the people running it. Magnet or not, that has NEVER impressed me at all!