What do nurse managers do all day?

Nurses General Nursing

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Is anyone able to tell me what the typical day is like for a nurse manager? Some floors seem to have nurse managers that are present for rounds and are out on the floor quite a bit, even answering call lights. Other floors seem to have managers that you rarely ever see - the charge nurse attends rounds and you rarely see the manager out on the floor. And some are in between.

In my own experience, people usually think that people in different positions from theirs don't work very hard but they have no idea. So, I'm simply curious and have to think that our managers are busy but are doing things that we floor nurses don't know about. Is their time spent in endless meeting? Generating reports? I'm sure the powers that be keep them busy but doing what?

Specializes in Ambulatory Care-Family Medicine.

Our manager is out on the floor quite a bit. She makes a daily round on every single patient on the floor just to make sure everything is ok. She does all of the reports and metrics for the floor (which take up a lot of her time), she spends 1-2 full days each month finalizing our schedule (we self-schedule but she still has to finalize it and ensure adequate staffing), takes up any issues we are having to the right people (IT, work flow, etc) and she has weekly meetings with all of the other managers to work out any issues between departments. On top of all that she will come help us on the floor and answer call lights especially during lunch time so we can all get our breaks.

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

I answered that question here:

https://allnurses.com/nurse-management/what-do-nurse-1131947.html

Specializes in ICU.

Each facility is different. Some of our managers routinely take patients; some take patients only a few days per week, and do paperwork the rest of the time. And of course, some do nothing. We usually don't have a "charge" nurse, unless we get lucky and have an extra pair of hands. Some of our managers take on additional titles, and do paperwork for more than one department. Like I said, each facility is different.

Specializes in Surgical, quality,management.

Today?

I arrived at 7.30. It's Monday so I approved the electronic roster and "locked" it so the staff on this weeks pay run got paid.

I checked my letterbox for annual leave requests and medical certificates for personal leave, notes from nurses about other wards borrowing equipment and breaking it!

I check in with my morning shift staff. My nurse in charge is a panicky woman so I need to reassure her and guide her somewhat. Look at the ED admissions....3 for the ward and another 33 in total in the dept awaiting admission (hello Monday morning). One of the admissions for the ward is a 16 year old girl with suicidal intent after ingesting bleach. We are an adult hospital with no peads ward and defiantly no peads psych unit......o hell she is already in endoscopy suite now a priority for a IP bed. Escalating to my DON & operations. Total disaster that takes most of both our day to try and resolve.

Follow up with another consultant who brought a 16 year old down from regional town....she is new to the hospital so talk about complexities of discharge planning underage patients as the Children Hospital will not engage.....refer her to said Children's hospital as an acute transfer ....still waiting a bed, hopefully one by Wednesday.

Complete the TB exposure trace for my staff and the HCAs who were specialling him....discuss with the casual pool manager regarding the exposure of the casual pool staff and link them with infection control for follow up.

Take a call from a staff member who has been searching for new job that does not include rotational shift work due to a back injury in her previous career. Congratulate her even though I knew she had the job from the reference check I gave last week. Fill out a recruitment form online and wait for the relevant approvals. Talk to the staff about the hours and advise them to refer anyone who may be interested to me.

Do a safety huddle regarding the exposure with infection control.

Talk to a frequent flyer patient about his behavior and that if he assults his elderly parents on the ward again I will call the police on him, again.

Check in with my new ward clerk about her new roster. Reassure her I am looking for more hours for her.

Complain about the insane relief cleaner I got today to her supervisor. Caught her yelling at a Sudanese refugee with liver failure that he should be working.....it won't get her fired...her manager is useless and thier union organiser is useless.....next time I need to record it. Wish my regular cleaner was back as do all my nurses í ½í¸£

Follow up on another ward breaking my new bladder scanner....their NUM denies it but I have a log book record the techs need to sign it. $4,000 repair fee being charged to her department.

Send papers out to NUM group for NUM meeting on Wednesday as I am the secretary. Confirm presenters via email.

Complete fall with fracture investigation (?due to no ventilation in the bathroom). Lament our paper record which is scanned on discharge.

Divisional exec meeting....discuss drs going rouge admitting underage patients, OH&S discuss another ward spat of shoulder injuries, trouble shoot potential solutionals as well as people to consult with the ward. Talk about critical incidents that occured in the division 7 wards and 15 theatres, sterile supply etc. Discuss my fall with fracture and 3 other falls that have occurred in bathrooms after pt have showered.....need to contact infrastructure manager to deal with a 70 year old building......discuss masterplanning and hope the state government will fund a new hospital build for us.. dream about blowing up my pokey unfit for purpose ward....

Review staffing with my amazing afternoon in charge. 1:1 RN booked for the SI girl, HCA booked for the hepatic encephalopathy who has GCS 12 and rolling around the bed. Find a low bed for him and crash mats as well. Quickly review new admissions, notice that a pt has been clerked incorrectly and will not show up on the correct lists tomorrow morning if it is not changed.

Leave 2 hrs later than I should, no lunch and feeling I have achieved nothing except complaining, emailing and arguing with people. Touch base with the unit registrar and complain to each other about rouge consultants. Promise each other tomorrow we will actually achieve something.

1 Votes
Specializes in school nurse.
Today?

I arrived at 7.30. It's Monday so I approved the electronic roster and "locked" it so the staff on this weeks pay run got paid.

I checked my letterbox for annual leave requests and medical certificates for personal leave, notes from nurses about other wards borrowing equipment and breaking it!

I check in with my morning shift staff. My nurse in charge is a panicky woman so I need to reassure her and guide her somewhat. Look at the ED admissions....3 for the ward and another 33 in total in the dept awaiting admission (hello Monday morning). One of the admissions for the ward is a 16 year old girl with suicidal intent after ingesting bleach. We are an adult hospital with no peads ward and defiantly no peads psych unit......o hell she is already in endoscopy suite now a priority for a IP bed. Escalating to my DON & operations. Total disaster that takes most of both our day to try and resolve.

Follow up with another consultant who brought a 16 year old down from regional town....she is new to the hospital so talk about complexities of discharge planning underage patients as the Children Hospital will not engage.....refer her to said Children's hospital as an acute transfer ....still waiting a bed, hopefully one by Wednesday.

Complete the TB exposure trace for my staff and the HCAs who were specialling him....discuss with the casual pool manager regarding the exposure of the casual pool staff and link them with infection control for follow up.

Take a call from a staff member who has been searching for new job that does not include rotational shift work due to a back injury in her previous career. Congratulate her even though I knew she had the job from the reference check I gave last week. Fill out a recruitment form online and wait for the relevant approvals. Talk to the staff about the hours and advise them to refer anyone who may be interested to me.

Do a safety huddle regarding the exposure with infection control.

Talk to a frequent flyer patient about his behavior and that if he assults his elderly parents on the ward again I will call the police on him, again.

Check in with my new ward clerk about her new roster. Reassure her I am looking for more hours for her.

Complain about the insane relief cleaner I got today to her supervisor. Caught her yelling at a Sudanese refugee with liver failure that he should be working.....it won't get her fired...her manager is useless and thier union organiser is useless.....next time I need to record it. Wish my regular cleaner was back as do all my nurses ������

Follow up on another ward breaking my new bladder scanner....their NUM denies it but I have a log book record the techs need to sign it. $4,000 repair fee being charged to her department.

Send papers out to NUM group for NUM meeting on Wednesday as I am the secretary. Confirm presenters via email.

Complete fall with fracture investigation (?due to no ventilation in the bathroom). Lament our paper record which is scanned on discharge.

Divisional exec meeting....discuss drs going rouge admitting underage patients, OH&S discuss another ward spat of shoulder injuries, trouble shoot potential solutionals as well as people to consult with the ward. Talk about critical incidents that occured in the division 7 wards and 15 theatres, sterile supply etc. Discuss my fall with fracture and 3 other falls that have occurred in bathrooms after pt have showered.....need to contact infrastructure manager to deal with a 70 year old building......discuss masterplanning and hope the state government will fund a new hospital build for us.. dream about blowing up my pokey unfit for purpose ward....

Review staffing with my amazing afternoon in charge. 1:1 RN booked for the SI girl, HCA booked for the hepatic encephalopathy who has GCS 12 and rolling around the bed. Find a low bed for him and crash mats as well. Quickly review new admissions, notice that a pt has been clerked incorrectly and will not show up on the correct lists tomorrow morning if it is not changed.

Leave 2 hrs later than I should, no lunch and feeling I have achieved nothing except complaining, emailing and arguing with people. Touch base with the unit registrar and complain to each other about rouge consultants. Promise each other tomorrow we will actually achieve something.

I mean this with good humor (cause you definitely gave me a chuckle)... I think you mean "rogue" consultants, as rouge consultants are usually found at Sephora wanting to paint your face and sell you make-up.

We had one on night shift in a LTC facility who used to sleep.

Specializes in Surgical, quality,management.
I mean this with good humor (cause you definitely gave me a chuckle)... I think you mean "rogue" consultants, as rouge consultants are usually found at Sephora wanting to paint your face and sell you make-up.

Whoopsy!

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