Seeking helpful hints from the pros

[BirdieBird, BSN]

Hello everyone, 

        I’m taking some time today to reach out to you all in search of some good advice. I am the nurse manager at an assisted living facility in our area. Roughly 46 elderly people depend on my team and I to get through their day to day activities and maintain both their health and safety. I have been in this role for a little over 9 months at this time and this is my first true management position. For the first 10 years of my career, I avoided management with everything I had; I very much preferred the bedside aspect of nursing and was very good at it. I also did not want anything to do with the responsibility that a nurse manager bears. Less responsibility equaled less liability in my mind. However, after working in acute care, long-term care, and community health, I decided to take the plunge and give this management thing a try. 

Some days are great, most days are good, and some days just suck. However, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the best teachers are those that have been through it. Therefore, I’m asking all of you nurse managers out there for any tips or tricks that would help my somewhat committed team of assistants morph into a solid team of healthcare providers that are not only committed to a high level of resident care, but just as strongly committed to each other and the team. Any advice to help a girl out?