A Good Nurse Manager...

Specialties Management

Published

A good nurse manager is:

  • Organized
  • Quick to respond to communications
  • Fair
  • Gives time off when requested
  • Grants reasonable vacation requests
  • Deals with hostile workplace situations
  • Doesn't feed into tattletale behavior
  • Deals with absenteeism appropriately
  • Is flexible
  • Avoids favoritism
  • Manages to please upper management

I have one of these treasures. I work for a less than ideal, for profit hospital, but as long as my manager stays, I stay.

Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

A good nurse manager: actually has nursing experience! I have worked with excellent and horrible NMs and have to say my favorite have hands on experience in patient care and don't have the inexperience to come to staff with ridiculous requests that could only be dreamed up by someone with an abundance of book smarts who has never cared for patients.

Specializes in PACU, pre/postoperative, ortho.

My current manager has a lot to be desired. However, my hope has been reignited after she showed up in scrubs to help out when we were extremely short staffed (first time that's happened to my knowledge - her working the floor, not the short staffed part, lol). She acknowledged afterwards that she was a "fish out of water" in that role & acknowledged that she could not do what we do on the floor. Hoping the experience spurs her on to be that ideal manager we all want. I agree, management can't be easy & I have no desire what so ever to fill that type of position...ever!

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I work for a less than ideal, for profit hospital, but as long as my manager stays, I stay.

So true. There's a wise chestnut that applies to this topic: "Workers don't quit jobs; they quit managers."

A good manager can promote a good work environment, whereas a substandard manager can flip that switch better known as high employee turnover.

Specializes in diabetic education, dialysis.

Thanks I needed to hear a lot of these things. I'm a newer manager still trying to find my style.

Specializes in Pediatrics/Developmental Pediatrics/Research/psych.

I'd like to add:

-allows staff to work up to their full scope of practice.

-is available for support as needed

-is supportive of his/her staff when dealing with upper management and clients

-encourages continued autonomy and growth

-knows when to let staff go

-understands that diversity of all kinds helps the unit function best

As a nurse manager for about 4 years, I can only strive daily to meet these expectations. Some days I make it and some days I don't quite get there. It is true, as some have said, that this is a hard and often thankless job. I have in the past year received expressions of thanks and encouragement from the nurses who work on my unit. This has made a huge difference for me and some days gets me through the day. If you have a good manager, please tell them! It might be the only bit of encouragement they get for a long time.

Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.

I might add a few traits that I believe are important:

- Openly solicits staff input on operational changes, and implements the good ideas

- Openly praises staff who perform above and beyond the call of duty

- Gives staff credit for their knowledge and experience, and treats them as intelligent people

- Keeps staff informed about upcoming changes

- Gives guidance when it is needed, and gets out of the way when it isn't

+ Add a Comment