anyone else noticed increase in nurse manager postions?

[oramar]

Being a lady of lesiure, I actually have time to read my new papers cover to cover. I think I am noticing a trend. There are more ads in the career section for nurse manager and unit manager positions in one Sunday newspaper than you would have seen in a entire year in the 80' and '90. I think I know what is going on but I don't know if others agree. About 10 to 15 years ago a cost containment policy that required managers to have multiple units became a commen policy across healthcare. It is burning managers out in a very short time. It is also making harder to promote from within because staff nurses know what gives on their units and they are saying "NO" when they are offered managment positions. My niece has been a unit secretary for 20 years on same unit, the first 10 years she had the same manager, in the last 10 years she has had 4 managers. In other words they burn out in 2-3 years. That is what got me thinking about this. My niece and I were talking and we agree that the turn over has to do with overwhelming responsibilities. We both also think we are noticing a tendency for new nurse managers to be less experienced and less qualified than in the past. What do you think? Anyone else notice a trend?

[llg, PhD, RN]

I pretty much agree with you. I'd also add that with the stress level on many units going up, the Nurse Manager is the recipient of it all. The upper level administration makes increasing demands -- and the stress-out staff blames the Nurse Manager for everything. Just read the many posts here on allnurses: managers are villified on a regular basis. Who would want to put themselves in such a position?

[oramar]

I pretty much agree with you. I'd also add that with the stress level on many units going up, the Nurse Manager is the recipient of it all. The upper level administration makes increasing demands -- and the stress-out staff blames the Nurse Manager for everything. Just read the many posts here on allnurses: managers are villified on a regular basis. Who would want to put themselves in such a position?

Yes, I am one of the ones who is very hard on managment. Higher up you go in managment the harder I am on them. Have to say to some extent I really do appreciate the difficulties of being a nurse manager. It is just that when I am constantly left short staffed, very short staffed I can only focus on my own problems, as in no secretary, short one aide, short one licensed person. It is only after I leave a postion due to the staff shortages that I can relax and start to see what the manager was trying to deal with such as horendous pressure to come in under budget, but of course there are a million other things.

[RNperdiem, RN]

Compliance. JHACO. Press-Gainey. These words burn out managers, I believe. In these times of corporate fads that run epidemic through hospitals, there is pressure on managers to enforce the latest corporate BS on their often resistant staff. Scores, quantifying, measuring what we do and how much we comply has added a burden to managers in addition to the usual hiring, firing, budgets etc.

One staff nurse I work with used to be a manager. She managed 3 units and decided it was too much.

[anononurse]

I pretty much agree with you. I'd also add that with the stress level on many units going up, the Nurse Manager is the recipient of it all. The upper level administration makes increasing demands -- and the stress-out staff blames the Nurse Manager for everything. Just read the many posts here on allnurses: managers are villified on a regular basis. Who would want to put themselves in such a position?

Although this is true enough, there ARE some poor managers out there. Unfortunately some places are too eager to hire anyone w/management experience to really check their references. Without divulging any details, we have had a problem w/morale on our unit for over a year, and it is directlly related to the nurse manager-- does admin. care enough to meet w/each person on an individual basis CONFIDENTIALLY and get to the bottom of things?? Of course not. All they care about is the budget and whether or not they have to pay OT. If they ever open their eyes and look at why long term employees are leaving, as well as many short term employees, they might get a clue, but for now it seems easier to just keep hiring newbies & sacrificing patient safety & quality of care!!