I have posted about the interview I had for the resident services director at an assisted living facility. Well, I am going for the second interview next week and before I left the first, the interviewers asked me to think about this question....
"How would you manage/supervise older employees?"
I'm wondering why they asked me that and if that is a trick question. I am a very young nurse and am thinking they don't think I can handle it or what? I think my answer will be the same exact way I would supervise anybody...
I worked at a facility where the new RN with a BSN was not in charge as one would expect. Instead the DON had a male LVN in charge, I suppose, due to his background, experience, and the thought that he could better handle disciplinary problems. While the RN never expressed any dissatisfaction with this arrangement, I thought it was kind of a disservice to her because she wasn't learning the leadership and supervision skills that she might need elsewhere. I agree that you need to approach each individual with respect and expect that everyone do their job to the best of their abilities so that the residents are safe and comfortable. Good luck with your second interview.
Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.
I worked at a facility where the new RN with a BSN was not in charge as one would expect. Instead the DON had a male LVN in charge, I suppose, due to his background, experience, and the thought that he could better handle disciplinary problems.
The experience and such are nice, but LVNs cannot legally supervise RNs. It is a violation of the nurse practice act in every state I know of.
This was a facility where the rules and regulations were open to the DONs unique interpretation. She held a second job and when I pointed out that this is expressly forbidden by Title 22, I was met with a typical answer indicating that, "well, we do things ......" To be precise, she was within the letter but not the spirit of the regulation, as it states that a DON can not be a DON at another facility. Her second job was not that of DON. Did however, explain the turmoil at that place and lack of respect for everyone, no matter what their age, was the rule and not the exception.
I honestly have trouble supervising both older and younger emplyees. The young employees look at me as a peer, the older employess look at me like a child. Its hard sometimes.
I was 21 when I graduated from nursing school and on my first shift alone was supervising a 60-something year old CNA. I was running around like crazy and asked her to help me take a patient to the bathroom. She was sitting at the nurses station knitting and looked up and said, "she only needs on person to assist, you don't need my help" and went back to knitting. And you know what I did? Interrupted my work to take the patient to the bathroom myself, because I was young and too intimidated to tell her she needed to go do it. She had been an CNA probably longer than I had been alive.
That was a great supervising learning experience for me, and I grew some brass ones after that. Never had a problem delegating work to CNA's ever since, regardless of age. I can see this being an issue for many young nurses, so I'm not surprised they asked a question like that.
caliotter3
38,333 Posts
I worked at a facility where the new RN with a BSN was not in charge as one would expect. Instead the DON had a male LVN in charge, I suppose, due to his background, experience, and the thought that he could better handle disciplinary problems. While the RN never expressed any dissatisfaction with this arrangement, I thought it was kind of a disservice to her because she wasn't learning the leadership and supervision skills that she might need elsewhere. I agree that you need to approach each individual with respect and expect that everyone do their job to the best of their abilities so that the residents are safe and comfortable. Good luck with your second interview.