Anyone like being a Nurse Manager?

DavidFR, BSN, MSN, RN · Aug 16

I was a nurse manager. I hated it. That doesn't mean to say you won't love it.

Ask yourself if management interests you and you think you've got the qualities necessary to do the job. What is the facility offering you in terms of orientation and/or management training?

You say your current situation is bad so you probably do need to move on, but only you can decide what to. If you try management and you don't like it, you can always go back to clinical practice. Living proof here.

Whatever you decide, good luck.

klone, MSN, RN · Aug 16

I have been a nurse manager for 8 years. It definitely has its headaches, and sometimes I wish I could just go in, work my three 12s, and clock out and not ever have to think about work when I'm not there. It's definitely the HARDEST job I've ever had.

Nevertheless, I love what I do. I look forward to going into work in the morning. I enjoy solving puzzles and problems. I enjoy getting to know the staff on the unit and doing a small part in helping to make THEIR jobs and lives more enjoyable. I am really good at what I do and at being a leader, and knowing that gives me satisfaction, even though some days I still feel like I failed.

I would guess that I'm probably in the minority of those in management. But that might be why I'm good at it, because the nurses see that I love what I do and I'm fully invested in them and the department.

I do spend about 50 hours/week at work and get paid for 40. I also check my work emails regularly in the evenings and weekends and respond to texts from nurses when I'm at home. So the work/life balance is definitely less than that of a bedside nurse.

mtmkjr, BSN · Aug 20

I'm not the manager, I'm a supervisor but I love what I do and I'll speak for my manager that she loves her job. She's very good at being a manager and has a lot of respect from staff. I think she's in it for the long haul, doesn't ever talk about doing anything different.

Hours can be long but she does have some flexibility, she has a director who looks out for the managers to make sure they get comp time.

kbrn2002, ADN, RN · Aug 23

I would think how good or bad the management position is would depend on the employer. In my current position I have a great support team. Upper management as well as other clinic managers in my area are accessible and supportive without micro-managing. Now that I am more comfortable in the role and needed administrative tasks don't take me quite as long to finish my typical week is right around 40 hours. My schedule is pretty flexible and while I rarely take advantage of it I can work from home occasionally.

Middle management however can be a thankless job for sure. There's often no pleasing anyone much less everyone. You get your directives from upper management, which they in turn get from above them. Your staff is often angry and upset about whatever new, probably silly or unrealistic rule they need to follow. Upper management is angry and upset if this new rule is not immediately followed to the letter. There you are stuck in the middle and getting hammered from both sides. Been there, done that, and never again!

klone, MSN, RN · Aug 26

kbrn2002 said:

I would think how good or bad the management position is would depend on the employer. In my current position I have a great support team. Upper management as well as other clinic managers in my area are accessible and supportive without micro-managing.

This is so true. My second formal management position, I only lasted a year. The week I was hired, the small community hospital was bought out by a for-profit healthcare corporation based in Tennessee. I don't know what executive leadership was like prior to that, but in the year I was there, I was incredibly micromanaged by the CEO and CFO, they were constantly trying to trim staffing, to the point where I could not safely staff my unit, requiring me to come in frequently to staff. I have accepted that a somewhat *** work/life balance is part of the job, but this was next level. I was staffing, or at least coming into put out fires, more weekends than not. Like I said, I only lasted a year in that role, and then left to do interim leadership work for a few years, where I could be less emotionally invested in what I was doing.

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Aug 28

kbrn2002 said:

Middle management however can be a thankless job for sure. There's often no pleasing anyone much less everyone. You get your directives from upper management, which they in turn get from above them. Your staff is often angry and upset about whatever new, probably silly or unrealistic rule they need to follow. Upper management is angry and upset if this new rule is not immediately followed to the letter. There you are stuck in the middle and getting hammered from both sides. Been there, done that, and never again!

I did middle management for four years. I did enjoy it for about 2.5 of those years, but the manager above me started to flounder and I had to clean up those messes. Loved my staff! But I couldn't take the compounding responsibility and stress and went back to a staff position myself.

I'm glad it's on my resume! But would I do it again? Unlikely