Does a nurse manager have to be a nurse?

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

Dear Is that permitted,

If holding a current and valid nursing license is an organizationally determined requirement for the job (as reflected in the job description), then No. 

But if you're asking if someone can manage nurses without being a nurse themselves-Yes. In that case, they wouldn't be called a nurse manager, they'd be a non-nurse manager who manages nurses.

There was a mantra a few years back that "it wasn't necessary for nurse managers to be nurses-they just had to have business skills". 

Needless to say that proved to be frustrating for staff at best and a detriment to patient care at worst.

I once had a manager who was a Physical Therapist. He could prepare and submit a unit budget. He could hire nurses and purchase equipment. He could supervise my (and my colleagues') performance far as whether my scrubs met the dress code, or if my attendance was up to par, or if I attended a sufficient number of staff meetings- but he wasn't qualified to evaluate my nursing practice.

The work-around was to have a nursing colleague sign off on his performance evaluations. If you are a nurse, then a nurse must evaluate your clinical performance.

Hope this answers your question.

Best wishes,

Nurse Beth