Tips from Nurses to Their Managers

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Never give me work in the morning. Always wait until 1 hour before shift change and then bring it in to me. The challenge of a deadline is refreshing.

If its a rush job, run in and interrupt me every 10 minutes to inquire how I am doing. That helps. Or even better, hover behind me, advising me at every keystroke.

Always leave without telling anyone where you are going. It gives me a chance to be creative when someone asks where you are.

If my arms are full of papers, boxes, books or supplies, don't open the door for me. I need to learn how to open doors with no arms is good training.

If you give me more than one job to do, don't tell me which is the priority. I am psychic.

Do your best to keep me late. I adore the nurses station and really have nowhere to go or anything to do. I have no life beyond work.

If a job I do pleases you, keep it a secret. If that gets out, it could mean a promotion.

If you don't like my work, tell everyone. I like my name to be popular in conversations. I was born to be whipped.

If you have special instructions for a job, don't write them down. In fact, save them until the job is almost done. No use confusing me with useful information.

Never introduce me to people you are with. I have no right to know anything. In the corporate food chain, I am plankton. When you refer to them later, my shrewd deductions will identify them.

Be nice to me only when the job I am doing for you could really change your life and send you straight to manager's hell.

Tell me all your little problems. No one else has any, and it's nice to know someone is less fortunate. I especially like the story about having to pay so much taxes on the bonus check you received for being such a good manager.

Wait until my yearly review and THEN tell me what my goal SHOULD have been. Give me a mediocre performance rating with a cost of living increase. I'm not here for the money anyway.

I needed the B.S. bingo idea yesterday for our staff meeting! I can relate to soooo many of these. Esp this one by mother/babyRN...

Thinking you know more than me because you have an advanced degree and no clinical experience or expertise in my specialty area even though you are in CHARGE of the specialty area you know little or nothing about....

i am so loving this post , i love how empower and shared governamce are a reality only in the minds of the higher ups

After reading these posts, I have to admit that I have been very lucky when it comes to unit managers. In 18 years, five different units and six different managers, I have had two who were competent, supportive, and fair. My current manager has years of ICU experience, and is the most professional I have ever worked with. Everyone in our unit loves her. My problem is with the "suits" in higher management who lie and treat staff unfairly.

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