Poor nursing management

[diana page]

Bad Management and leadership....How do you address this concern?

[askater11]

LEAVE!!!!!!!!!!

My first job was TERRIBLE. The management on my floor especially but after meeting the management "above" I left the hospital all together.

I went to a different hospital. The management was GREAT!!! I didn't like my 1st position it was midnights. I switched to afternoons and loved it!!!!!!! After 4 years they started manipulating with our staffing ratio.

Now I work on another unit and LOVE IT!!!!!!!! (I found this unit by getting pulled constantly to almost all the units in the hospital)

[135ctv]

You as one person cannot change an entire management structure. You can voice your concerns, but if you do not see any hope of change then I'd move on. Don't waste your time and effort trying to change something that you can't.

Failure to retain employees costs business money. The truth is, businesses focus on the bottom line. One person leaving will not affect this, but if a business is seemingly a revolving door for employees, it will eventually cost them.

Some positions have an overabundence of employees due to layoffs, downsizing, or too many people entering the field. People in these positions often must stay in a job they don't like and are not happy in because, if they leave, they may not be able to find another position.

Due to the shortage of healthcare workers, we have the luxury of being able to choose among several available positions should we want to move on. Take advantage of it.

I think job hopping still has a stigma attached to it. In the 40's and 50's, people signed on to an employer until retirement. Things are different today. People often change jobs and even careers throughout their lives, but I think that a lot of people still have the feeling that they have to "stick it out" and that they need to remain loyal to their employers. If you find a job that you're happy in and employer that treats you well and values you, then by all means stay. Just don't stay out of some false sense of loyalty. You health, your well-being and your family are more important.

Do your homework. Look on the internet, especially for news stories and survey results. Talk to people who work there or who have worked there. Find out what they liked best about their job and what they think could be improved. Ask for a tour of the facility before you apply. When you walk through, look closely. Is this the type of environment where you'd be happy? If possible, get a copy of the annual statement and see what kind of financial position they are in. Ask the people who are interviewed you how long they've been there, what they like about working there. Ask them to name one thing that they think could be improved. I'd also ask prospective supervisors situational-type questions. Answers to these questions can tell you a lot.

[Supernurse777]

I work in a call center as a nurse, and it seems like the managers over our groups are micromanagers, there's a culture there (and I think in a lot of healthcare settings) where the nurse feels powerless, so that when they become a manager, they become a bully who fosters complacency in the employees.

I was screamed at by one of these micromanagers for nothing, and I resent that she did it in front of everyone and she was paternalistic/disrespectful in her tone. Which, in turn makes you LESS productive.

This is never going to change, same garbage, different day. I complained, of course, but she'll lay in even harder, because she's a vindictive ***** and that's what vindictive ******* do when you stand up for yourself.

I fully intend to ignore her, I have no respect for her at this point, and I have a low tolerance for ******** to begin with...I guess that's why I'm hanging on by a fingernail to this profession just long enough to go back to school for something else...ANYTHING else.

[Imafloat, BSN, RN]

I left. I am still at the same hospital, just a different unit.

I talked to a lot of nurses who floated to our unit to see where nurses were happiest and how they felt about their unit. I found the happiest nurses and sat and waited for a day shift job to open up in their unit.

Lucky for me, a job opened up and I was selected from a dozen candidates.

I am in love with my new job! My new manager is amazing, I watched her go clean a room because it was our only bed and an alpha trauma was on the way and we were busy. She comes into the unit and is completely approachable. She has high standards for her nurses, but she holds herself to high standards as well.

I know the bottom line is about money, but there are things good managers do that dont cost a penny that make a positive impact on their employees. My new manager works as charge nurse on one holiday every year, because she believes that she shouldn't require anything of us that she won't do.

I have gone from one of the worse managers to one of the best. Work still sucks sometimes, but it's easier to get through the rough shifts when you know you're more than just a warm body holding a license. I don't know how I got so lucky to work for this woman, but I'm so thankful.

Sorry to go off on a tangent....my answer is leave, there are good managers out there.