Do most nurses not want to go into management?

pagandeva2000, LPN · May 13, 2009

I could be wrong, but I believe most nurses don't want to bother is because they have to 'cross to the other side' and perpetuate the unfair practices and policies that exist and support them, even though they may personally think they are insane. What appears to happen, also, is that most of those positions are non-union.

For nurses, such as myself that do benefit from union membership, that gets dicey. Most managers I know do not get paid overtime, so, if they have to stay late or come early, do weekends, etc, they do not see any compensation. In addition, they have to operate on survival mode, which means, as I mentioned earlier, support things that screw us or they will get fired. I am only saying these things from my own personal observations; you may get more as others answer this thread. It seems to me that those who go into management don't stay long, transfer around quite a bit and alot of it may not be voluntary. Not worth it to me.

llg, PhD, RN · May 14, 2009

In the past, a BSN has not been an absolute requirement. However, the new Magnet standards will require all managers to have at least a BSN by 2013 ... and will eventually require managers to have master's degrees. While those requirements won't change thing at all facilities, it will continue the trend for the BSN to be the minimum standard for leadership positions.

southernbeegirl, BSN, RN · May 14, 2009

do i want to go into management? i'm a supervisor and that is way more management than i want now. have you lost your ever loving mind??? :chuckle

onetiredmomma · May 14, 2009

Most hospitals in this area require a Masters prepared nurse for nurse managers and above. I have never had a manager that was not salaried. Translate: no overtime, on-call for your unit/facility 24/7. No way would I take this on!

wooh, BSN, RN · May 14, 2009

I've noticed in general that the nurses that would be great managers are smart enough to know better, and that the nurses that want to be managers are just too lazy to work the floor. The best managers I've had were convinced to do it against their better judgement. And most aspects of it make them miserable because they're trying to do a good job in an impossible situation.

Think about it. Nurse managers are stuck in the middle between the business coin counters and the nurses at the bedside trying to take care of patients. You'll never be able to keep both sides happy. Who would want that?

elkpark · May 14, 2009

I've noticed in general that the nurses that would be great managers are smart enough to know better, and that the nurses that want to be managers are just too lazy to work the floor. The best managers I've had were convinced to do it against their better judgement. And most aspects of it make them miserable because they're trying to do a good job in an impossible situation.

SOOOOOO true!

(And there's nothing on earth that would induce me to take a management position!)

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · May 14, 2009

You could not pay me enough money to be a NM, or even a shift supervisor, for the above-mentioned reasons. It's salaried, and it's either keep your job or support stupid policies that don't make floor nurses' lives any easier.

Nope. I'll be a peon any day of the week. I do charge some shifts and that is plenty.

sissiesmama, ASN, RN · May 14, 2009

Not no but ___________ no! There is no way I would want to be in management. When I went to nursing school, I wanted to do patient care, not to get into any type of management at all. I have an associate of nursing degree, and I know some states require that the nurse have more than that for management positions. We live in Louisiana, and we don't have nursing unions here.

My husband is also an RN, and has been out of school a few years before me. He finished in 1987, and I got out in 1991. We did attend the same school, so he also has an associate degree. Unlike me, dh loves the management aspect of nursing, and he is an excellent manager and supervisor. He started in the ER after graduating, and after a few years there, he got into management and has been doing it ever since. He enjoys it,

and does an excellent job. He has been a nurse manager on different units and is currently a nursing supervisor. He has the patience for it, and does an excellent job. I, on the other hand, do not have the patience to deal with the usual headaches that go along with the management type positions.

We have always heard that in our state they will be increasing the educationb requirement to BS or Masters for management, but no changes yet.

Anne, RNC

Tweety, BSN, RN · May 14, 2009

I was offered a nurse manager position last year and declined for many of the reasons stated above. I'm happy being a charge nurse right now, but even sometimes I long to back to being a bedside nurse where I'm at my best.

wooh, BSN, RN · May 14, 2009

Sheesh, being charge is more than enough. I've enjoyed avoiding even that for the last year (I got screwed out of a deserved raise, so I refused to do any extra work until I got the extra money of that raise.)

Give me my patient assignment, let me take care of my patients and go home. That way I can keep a relatively low profile and stay out of trouble.

Valerie Salva, BSN, RN · May 14, 2009

I've noticed in general that the nurses that would be great managers are smart enough to know better, and that the nurses that want to be managers are just too lazy to work the floor. The best managers I've had were convinced to do it against their better judgement. And most aspects of it make them miserable because they're trying to do a good job in an impossible situation.
Think about it. Nurse managers are stuck in the middle between the business coin counters and the nurses at the bedside trying to take care of patients. You'll never be able to keep both sides happy. Who would want that?

I absolutely agree.

Who wants to go over to the Dark Side? Not me.