Considering move to manager

[cldalesa]

I have worked in the same medical ICU for 26 years. I am a charge nurse,CCRN, RRT and active on several committees. I recently applied for and was offered a manager role on a medical floor. I am excited about the challenges it offers, but am still anxious about making the move and giving up the " critical care" parts of my life. Has anyone else made a similar move and have advice? Thoughts?

[tnbutterfly - Mary, BSN]

Moved to Nursing Career Advice for more discussion/response.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Oh - I really hope you make this move. We need more experienced nurse managers like yourself who really understand the ind-and-outs of all aspects of patient care.

Hopefully, your organization will support your transition with appropriate training. Although you have experience in clinical function, you'll probably need a better understanding of financial operations; developing and managing your budget including capital expenses; productivity management, HR/employment processes, managing payroll, etc.

I also want to give you a heads-up on a less pleasant aspect of career progression. Don't be surprised if you find yourself experiencing depression, despite 'better' hours, more pay, etc. If you really loved patient care (and it seems that you have if you stayed in it this long), leaving it behind will be a huge loss for you. Patient care provides immediate gratification and validation of your professional worth on a continuous basis. Management - meh. Even my best day as a manager can't provide the same sense of satisfaction as a mediocre shift as a care provider.

Don't let this blindside you. Just like any other loss, you will experience a grieving process. Hang in there. Find some peers to talk to about your frustrations. You can make such a huge difference in the lives of the staff you supervise - great managers are a very rare commodity.

[firstinfamily, RN]

I have tried management twice and both times have come back to the bedside because I was not satisfied. I did go through a type of grieving sensation with the last move. Plus, I was questioning my decision as my previous experience had not been a positive one. I did feel because of my expertise in bedside nursing I had a lot to contribute and was able to support staff, help futher their knowledge and provide some cohesion to my unit. My problem was that management kept adding to my already full plate and they really did not have any interest in what I wanted to achieve for my unit. I think we do get tired of being at the bedside, but there are very limited lateral/upward places for bedside nurses. We are so very special and why are we not recognized for what we do?? I think I have only had about 3 managers over 33 years that I truly admired and respected who were empowering managers and gave me role models to aspire to. I did not find management as rewarding as bedside nursing and having the weekends off might have been nice, but still did not give me the warm fuzzies I needed. We still had to rotate certain holidays and sometimes cover for the house when supervisors were short, so it is not always about having better hours etc.