Can an unlicensed manager evaluate nurses?

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Can a manager who is not a nurse, such as a person who has a CNA, MA, or no clinical certification/license do the yearly evaluation/be the manager for a RN? Is there any requirements or regulations for this or is it just per facility policy?

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

They can manage and evaluate administratively, not clinically.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

There are very specific regulations from a variety of sources that specify that nursing care must be evaluated by a qualified nurse (CMS, JC, CARF, etc.). Your state nurse practice act will also include this. If you are working in a non-licensed, unregulated setting (ex: spa, holistic center, etc) the rules don't apply.

In organizations that have a 'matrix' style of management, it is not uncommon for nurses to work in areas that are managed/administered by non-nurses such as radiology, sports medicine, etc. In these situations, there must be a formally defined process to ensure that the 'nursing' part of the job is always evaluated by a qualified nurse. It can get pretty confusing when you report to multiple bosses (been there, done that) particularly if the "admin" boss is trying to dictate something (like staffing ratios) that have an effect on nursing care.... and you get caught in the middle.

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Thanks for your responses, that helped clarify the issue for me.

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