Well...back at it!

11 hours ago, klone said:

It's like the mafia. You can't ever really leave. Six months after quitting my director job and working as a travel nurse, I just accepted the job of nurse manager of an L&D unit of a very large hospital in the midwest.

I found that I dislike carrying out policies that I had no say in creating, and frankly felt were unnecessary or arbitrary! And I miss the long-range goal planning and quality improvement projects.

Not looking forward to having to do annual performance evaluations again, though. ?

No one likes performance reviews and the politics can be ridiculous to deal with. Look at it this way though - you can make a difference in encouraging your employees or figuring out a plan to help them improve their nursing careers! I know I have had some fantastic nursing directors that have played a part in making me the nurse that I am ?

I have flirted with management because I love quality improvement projects. For me my job as a clinical educator satisfies this role without adding evaluations and disciplinary actions and the politics that come with it. I do admire those able to handle the management role well because it is not an easy one.

6 minutes ago, passionflower said:

I have flirted with management because I love quality improvement projects. For me my job as a clinical educator satisfies this role without adding evaluations and disciplinary actions and the politics that come with it. I do admire those able to handle the management role well because it is not an easy one.

One of my very good friends, with whom I worked at my last director job, was the unit's nurse clinical educator. I LOVED her, and she had such an important job. It was so nice to be able to delegate orientation, annual competencies, training, etc. I hope your manager tells you often how much you're appreciated!

Welcome back!

Recent clinical experience will be a great benefit to you and your team.

On 5/21/2020 at 1:33 PM, klone said:

It's like the mafia. You can't ever really leave.

I found that I dislike carrying out policies that I had no say in creating, and frankly felt were unnecessary or arbitrary! And I miss the long-range goal planning and quality improvement projects.

Not looking forward to having to do annual performance evaluations again, though. ?

Yes, there is no position outside of management that works on QI or long range projects related to patient care other than positions in QA, safety, risk management, clinical education, or jobs titled project manager or nurse expert! However, the real reason you can't leave is because there is no way to mask your skills and other good qualities as a leader if you have years of work experience and you are good at leadership and management.

In fact, I know a manager with 20 years of work experience who became a traveler recently to accept a contract to cover a frontline management position with no direct reports in order to take a break from management. He even played with the idea of going back to being a staff RN. Well, like you he was open to long range QI type projects. Also, everything about him screamed good leader/manager. So, like you he ended up being sucked back into a management position! ?

Management is a blackhole for certain individuals that display all the right qualities and so there is no escape! ? Thus, I thought your original post sometime ago, where you described quitting management was cute! I was waiting for you to get sucked back-in. ? Welcome back!

Thank you, Summer Garden!

A fellow DON and I were discussing this just last week. Where was the talk about disciplining and firing people and testifying before the Board of Nursing for license revocation hearings when they were giving us pep talks in nursing school about all of the people we were going to help and all of the lives that we were going to save?