Clinically Inexperienced Manager

[ChaosCoordinatorRN]

What are your thoughts on having a manager who is completely inexperienced in the type of nursing they manage? Let's say they have great administrative skills but have never worked your field of nursing as a bedside nurse and you work in a highly specialized area like obstetrics, for example. What are your thoughts on this?

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

traumaRUs said:

We are experiencing such a shortage of dialysis staff that the big two, both Fresenius and Davita are looking to close units leaving patients in rural areas in dire straits.  

 

Its certainly desirable to have a clinically competent manager but in this marketplace, that isn't always possible

I've seen that personally in my region as well. A Davita Clinic closed due to lack of staff, those patients were absorbed by other clinics but none very close. One of our patient's is a transfer from that clinic, he has a 75 mile each way commute now where he used to live within 5 miles of his local clinic. Our regions clinic's are shedding managers like crazy. Three have recently left and there's a well substantiated rumor that a fourth is on the way out the door as well. Personally my clinic hasn't had a manager for going on a year, though we're a small clinic so the "acting" manager can get by with coming in once or twice a week and we've been doing OK. 

They are mostly leaving due to the crazy work load expectations. No way I would take that job, especially now with them being so short on managers. The few that are left are pulled way too many directions. One of the managers, who is beyond excellent by the way is likely the next one leaving. She is essentially running three clinics and helping in the others that are short staffed as well. She's on the floor so much as either a PCT or a nurse due to staffing issues that I don't know how she manages to keep up with the managing duties but she does. Probably by putting in way more hours on what should be her own time than anybody should be expected to, She likely makes barely more than minimum wage when all the hours she works are taken in account. 

The best way to to prevent burning out those managers might very well be to start hiring managers without that nursing hands on experience so they can't be expected to work the floor to cover every hole in the schedule. 

[klone, MSN, RN]

kbrn2002 said:

The best way to to prevent burning out those managers might very well be to start hiring managers without that nursing hands on experience so they can't be expected to work the floor to cover every hole in the schedule. 

Yes! A good manager can make herself helpful to her staff in other ways besides being charge nurse or taking a patient assignment.

[mdsRN2005, ASN, BSN, RN]

ChaosCoordinatorRN said:

Ah, but I agree with you! The manager should never have to worry about working the floor! Yet, a corporate-level CFO recently said that managers needed to work the floor because the company didn't have to pay them more!

The fact that they expect the manager to regularly function as charge nurse so that the charge nurse can take patient assignments sounds like they are OK with being chronically short staffed.  This points to a much bigger issue than whether the manager is qualified for the role.  And the fact that they would rather have an unqualified manager work unpaid overtime  than staff the unit with appropriately trained nurses (all to save a few bucks) is even more concerning.  Lots of safety concerns here with the biggest being that safety doesn't seem to be a priority! 

[ChaosCoordinatorRN]

Yep! That pretty accurately describes the company! 

[Tenebrae, BSN, RN]

I think if the person is someone who comes into it trusting their staff and not micromanaging and with an attitude of 'I don't know, however please let me learn from you' they should be fine. 

Often the people going into management are not the most effective managers and work on hob nobbing up and short person syndrome would not do well.