How can an rn with no nursing experience be a supervisor

[mozella]

First let me say that I don't dislike this person. I think she is very nice and will be a great nurse. The problem I have is with the situation. I work in a LTCF and am somewhat new at nursing (14 months). My facility hired an RN supervisor that is just out of nursing school to be the supervisor on my unit. She has no experience except for clinicals while in school. So I am basically training this person. Every order she writes I have to fix in the chart and in the Mar/Tar. She is not comfortable with speaking with the doctors, families, or pharmacy. Basically she is not comfortable/capable of doing anything on her own. I am an LPN so she is making more money than me but I am doing double work. I think of a supervisor as someone who makes sure things are done and done right. someone that can advise me if I am unsure of something. This person can not do this. shouldn't a supervisor have to have some job experience? Like I said, she is a very nice person, and eager to learn. She will be a good nurse someday. But wouldn't It have be wiser to put her on the floor first. How can I respect this person as my supervisor when she doesn't know how to her own job.

[itsmejuli]

I cannot imagine anyone accepting a supervisory position without any prior experience. I wouldn't want to be in her shoes, nor yours.

I bet she's not making as much money as you think. Your employer probably hired her because she's cheap to pay since she has no experience.

I applied for a full-time position where I work, (currently in FL), they turned me down by making up a bunch of lies about how I wasn't a good fit etc etc. They then hired a brand new LPN with no experience.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I was an LPN/LVN for four years before becoming an RN. In addition, most of my nursing career has been spent in nursing homes and LTC facilities. Now that you have some background, here is my viewpoint on this matter.

Most states require a legal minimum of 8 hours of RN coverage in nursing homes, and a handful of states mandate 24-hour RN coverage. Many of these nursing homes do not particularly care about the experiential level or competence of the RN, just as long as the facility has a warm body in the building to fulfill the legal minimum of 8 hours of "RN coverage."

Nursing homes have had difficulty attracting RNs in the past. However, due to the economic downturn, many new grad RNs are resorting to working in nursing homes and LTC facilities because they aren't being called back by the major hospitals for interviews. They aren't landing spots in new grad internships because many hospitals now view brand new nurses as too expensive to train.

I used to be in that dreadful position not too long ago. I was the LPN/LVN who had to bust my butt, deal with difficult families, care for many elderly residents, take off orders, do admission assessments and admit packets, handle phone calls from pharmacy, and manage insubordinate aides while the weak-spinned RN supervisor would purposely hide so that (s)he didn't have to deal with the stress. You know what I did? I figured that I might as well get paid more for busting my butt, so I earned my RN license last year.

I know you feel it's not fair that this inexperienced person is earning more than you while you perform most of the workload, but this is the way things roll in LTC facilities. You do not need to personally like or respect the RN supervisor who doesn't know how to properly supervise, but you must be able to shove your resentment aside in order to get along with her.

[NPinWCH]

I totally agree with you and while you say she will be a good nurse one day, she is not showing good judgment by taking the job without experience. As supervisor she has some responsibility for all the patients under her and she is putting herself and everyone she delegates to at risk.

Obviously, since management hired her, they are aware of her lack of experience and this worries me as well. I'm sure they needed someone with RN after her name to meet some requirement and maybe they were having trouble finding one, but that doesn't excuse them if a situation arises and her lack of experience causes harm to a patient.

A supervisor should be a resource person, not just a title and those initials after her name don't make her a better nurse or supervisor like some people in management might think.

I think it would be good for you to express your concerns to management but I'm not sure anything will change.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I totally agree with you and while you say she will be a good nurse one day, she is not showing good judgment by taking the job without experience.

The new RN's student loans are possibly becoming due for repayment. She most likely has other bills that cannot wait until the perfect job comes along. Finding a job as a new grad RN is like finding a needle in a haystack in many parts of the U.S. In my humble opinion, she is doing what she must until some other opportunity comes along.

[TheCareerStudent]

I have worked in quite a few different industries and I have often seen someone with a high level degree but no on the job experience fill management roles. I see both sides of the coin here, as I have been on both sides of it. Just know that it happens everywhere, military included.

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

op: yes, your expectations of a supervisor are valid! however, like the others mentioned, he/she has a degree, a license, is a warm body, and is cheaper then a rn with experience, so he/she was hired. with that said, you will not have to endure this too long. your supervisor will figure out quickly that he/she is out of his/her element and rather then be terminated or risk a complaint against his/her license, he/she will quit sooner rather then later. it will not matter that you support him/her (which i think is nice of you to do), the situation is dangerous for the lpns, the patients, and this new nurse. gl!

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

i have worked in quite a few different industries and i have often seen someone with a high level degree but no on the job experience fill management roles. i see both sides of the coin here, as i have been on both sides of it. just know that it happens everywhere, military included.

i have experienced this in other fields too, but nursing is not the same. supervisors who have to provide patient care, but have no work experience are dangerous. if the supervisor did not have to provide any form of patient care (did not have to write orders, call doctors, give medications, start ivs, perform procedures, guide nursing staff to do the same, etc.), then experience would not matter. in this case, this rn was hired because he/she has a degree, a valid license, and is cheap. that is all.

if anything happens while the new grad is a supervisor, the facility will throw the new grad rn under the bus, roll over the broken body a few dozen times, then keep driving! a new grad should not be put in this position, it does not matter the degree! it is not fair to anyone involved, most of all the patients.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

the good news is, you have the opportunity to precept her to be a good supervisor.

[Katie5]

op: yes, your expectations of a supervisor are valid! however, like the others mentioned, he/she has a degree, a license, is a warm body, and is cheaper then a rn with experience, so he/she was hired. with that said, you will not have to endure this too long. your supervisor will figure out quickly that he/she is out of his/her element and rather then be terminated or risk a complaint against his/her license, he/she will quit sooner rather then later. it will not matter that you support him/her (which i think is nice of you to do), the situation is dangerous for the lpns, the patients, and this new nurse. gl!

or she will get mad and get so good at her job, that all her naysayers are put to shame!

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

or she will get mad and get so good at her job, that all her naysayers are put to shame!

has this been your experience as a nurse? if so, it sounds nice. unfortunately, i have experienced new grad supervisors who quit within 8 weeks because either a patient was harmed or a patient was almost harmed.

by the way, getting "mad" at a situation one is new to does not bring one more knowledge or work experience. therefore, i doubt the new grad will become a good nurse in a short amount time.

[Katie5]

has this been your experience as a nurse? if so, it sounds nice, like a hollywood movie. unfortunately, in my reality, they quit within 8 weeks because either a patient was harmed or a patients was almost harmed. by the way, getting mad does not bring one more knowledge or experince so i doubt this will make him/her into a good nurse in a short amount time.

i've been reading some very unsettling posts today:confused:. did you take my post in the literal sense?