Is this a smart tactic in huddle...

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  1. Are scare tactics effective at encouraging staff to hold themselves accountable?

    • 3
      Yes
    • 5
      No
    • 1
      Unsure

9 members have participated

Just a question. Today during huddle our nurse manager brought up a story about a nurse in the 70's who was convicted of murder for hiding a mistake that she made. Granted she's trying to teach nurses to hold themselves accountable but is this a good leadership tactic? I'm not sure and so that's why I am asking what other nurse managers think. Thank you.

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I don't think this is an appropriate venue to question your managers leadership tactics. I would encourage you to speak with your director or human resources partner if you have concerns about your manager.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

"It depends" is my answer -- and that wasn't a choice. Letting people know that there can be serious consequences for covering up an error is a good idea ... but only if done appropriately. It all depends on how the teaching was delivered and the specific circumstances.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
I don't think this is an appropriate venue to question your managers leadership tactics. .

I don't think it's a problem to ask here.

OP, I agree with llg - it totally depends on the context and the way it was done, so I can't answer yes or no to your specific example.

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Specializes in school nurse.
I don't think this is an appropriate venue to question your managers leadership tactics. I would encourage you to speak with your director or human resources partner if you have concerns about your manager.

It's the nursing management section of an online nursing forum- if you can't run this kind of question by other nurses here, why have one at all?

OP- Was it done as kind of a "case study", or as more of a "scary nursing bedtime story"?

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If she was telling the truth, and not just making up a story, (like I suspect of some of the embellished stories on this site), I don't see the problem, granted that her delivery was appropriate, as previously mentioned.

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It's the nursing management section of an online nursing forum- if you can't run this kind of question by other nurses here, why have one at all?

OP- Was it done as kind of a "case study", or as more of a "scary nursing bedtime story"?

Sorry, my qualm was more about how the question was posed because it reads as an insinuation that the manager was using it as a "scare tactic". Without any other information I don't think that question is the appropriate question within the context of this specific situation.

Of course scare tactics are not a good way to influence staff. It would be appropriate to use a story to convey seriousness.

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Well, I'm not saying that it was effective or not. I am not saying that she has bad leadership skills. Personally, I think she is a great manager but I had never experienced that outside of nursing school. In nursing school, instructors would always talk to us about protecting our license and charting as if a jury could be reading and I think in school that is what most of us experienced. I believe the tone was a "scary nursing bedtime story."

I just want the perspective of other managers. I am not a manager but want to become a CNO one day so I felt this is an appropriate place to ask if this is acceptable or not.

The context was a family member complained about a nurse doing something and the nurse denied it. Her point mainly was to be accountable and I agree - I just don't know how I feel about scaring nurses into to doing the right thing.

I would not speak to HR about this because she's a great manager. I am only asking for my own personal development as someone who might be in her shoes one day!

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
I just don't know how I feel about scaring nurses into to doing the right thing.

Seems to me that it was more about scaring nurses into making sure they protect their license (and their lives, if the nurse in question was convicted and sentenced to prison). I think that's a good lesson for everyone to be reminded of.

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Well, I'm not saying that it was effective or not. I am not saying that she has bad leadership skills. Personally, I think she is a great manager but I had never experienced that outside of nursing school. In nursing school, instructors would always talk to us about protecting our license and charting as if a jury could be reading and I think in school that is what most of us experienced. I believe the tone was a "scary nursing bedtime story."

I just want the perspective of other managers. I am not a manager but want to become a CNO one day so I felt this is an appropriate place to ask if this is acceptable or not.

The context was a family member complained about a nurse doing something and the nurse denied it. Her point mainly was to be accountable and I agree - I just don't know how I feel about scaring nurses into to doing the right thing.

I would not speak to HR about this because she's a great manager. I am only asking for my own personal development as someone who might be in her shoes one day!

ok got you. I think its important for nurses to understand the risk of certain behaviors. Sometimes that can be conveyed through a story of what has happened to a nurse. It is a fine line though because the story should not be used to "scare" people but to influence them to do the right thing for their own safety. Usually stories are used like this when people are deviating from a policy/procedure or using potentially dangerous work arounds.

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Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.

My nursing class attended a BON meeting, and we watched as people's licenses were suspended and revoked. It was an object lesson that has stayed with me - and that was more than 20 years ago.

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Specializes in Tele, ICU, Staff Development.
Just a question. Today during huddle our nurse manager brought up a story about a nurse in the 70's who was convicted of murder for hiding a mistake that she made. Granted she's trying to teach nurses to hold themselves accountable but is this a good leadership tactic? I'm not sure and so that's why I am asking what other nurse managers think. Thank you.

There are probably better ways to do this than resorting to this method.

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