Question for DON of hospital

[icecreamjunkie]

Hi there. I'm a nursing student and was wondering if there was anyone out there that would answer these interview questions for my assignment? Here are the exact ones I was assigned. Thanks ahead of time!

1 - How do you decide who should do what tasks within the nursing department (delegation)?

2 - What legal responsibilities do you consider when doing this delegating?

3 - What common problems with delegating have you experienced and what has been the resolution of those problems?

4 - How do you give feedback to your staff when a) the job is done well, or b) the job is done poorly or not at all?

5 - With the nursing shortage as it is, do you find that nurses are able to "get away" with more before being dismissed simply to meet the patient loads?

[scattycarrot, BSN, RN]

Correct me if I am wrong but is the whole idea of this assignment that you actually go and speak with a DON and ask these questions? I am not being mean, its just that you aren't going to get much out of it, if you just expect people to wtite down their responses. Just my own opinion.

[ohmeowzer RN, RN]

yes i think it would be interesting if you spoke to a DON personally. she express her feelings better one on one. i had a assignment almost like that and went to a nursing home and spoke to the DON she was very nice and seemed to enjoy talking to me. she even offered me a job after i graduated. i say go for it...

[icecreamjunkie]

Good point, but not necessarily in this case. There is a huge paper, research, and a presentation to go with this...the prof didn't care if we talked to an actual person or chatted with someone online. In fact, he suggested it.

[deaconrn]

Here's some input...

1. How does DON decide who does what task in the department of nursing--- First, let me say "Department of Nursing" is a huge arena. I would clarify what your instructor is asking for. The "Dept of Nsng" generally refers to the administrative arm of nursing. This includes the DON, ADON, Admin supervisors, Admin secretarial staff, and staffing coordinator(s). It also includes unit directors/mgrs. The DON decides which projects are priorities based on current needs/problems/ and corporate initiatives. He/She then assigns them as committee or individual projects to the person(s) with interest, experience in that area, a unit that will be affected most by the outcome(s), and at times, the person with the most free time left to work on it. All projects are expected to be carried out within the boundaries of the hospitals accrediting bodies and within the instituions Policies. When it comes to nursing on a specific unit, the director is responsible for developing and enforcing policy (all approved by the DON). This may be for both administrative activities and/or clinical activities. He/she will, most likely, delegate portions to established leaders on the unit such as assistant managers/clinical coordinators and/or charge nurses, and is responsible for oversight and insuring that each team member functions within the guidelines established for them by hospital policy and state licensing regulations.

2. Legal responsibility...If you are involved, you are legally responsible for staying within the limits of your professional license AND staying within the hospitals policies/procedures. The bottom line here is "chain f command. A CNA is overseen by LPN's & RN's...an LPN is overseen by RN's, and the staff is overseen by a Charge RN. All of these are overseen by the manager and all the managers must answer to the DON.

3. Common problems w/ delegating... a) ineffective leaders! Good leaders don't just happen...they have to be grown and that takes time. b) unwilling followers! staff often feel that those in charge are there because of favoritism. This is rarely the case. It is important to team build every day, and reward staff for good performance with increasing responsibility so they see that leadership roles are earned. c) individual agendas. Again, team building is the only solution. Each person on the nursing team must stay focused on the teams goal...

4. Giving feedback is the single most important thing a leader can do. I try to catch people in the act & say thank you in front of patients, physicians, and other staff...to brag!!! I also try to remember to say thank you to each shift for a job well done...the night shift as they leave, the day shift @ 3PM and the evening shift before I leave for the day (~6pm) and as part of every staff meeting. I think the key to bad performance is "teachership"...using those opportunities to teach not only the "offender" but anyone else who will listen. This makes it a positive experience. If 1:1 counselling is needed, I try to contrast the poor performance with a situation when care delivery was excellent, to let the nurse know that they have what it takes to be a star. This tends to be much more positive and motivating.

5. Do nurses get away with more because staffing is short...hopefully, if a bad nurse is hanging in there, it's because the manager is trying to work with them to remediate...not because they are a warm body. It is REALLY hard as a manager to let a nurse go when you are already working your staff on overtime to staff the unit, BUT...a poor performer will ultimately frustrate the others enough to destroy morale and sabotage the team. Better to let them go than to break the spirits of the exceptional performers.

I hope this helps you with your paper. Best of Luck!!!!!!

"Nothing is more fragile or more resilient than the human spirit. The ability to influence that spirit is the greatest privelege of being a leader."

[deaconrn]

Ps: email me if you need more info