What changes would you like to see from administration?

kbakrevs · May 26, 2015

VERY harsh. Sorry, OP.

Hey thanks, it's alright. It's been mentioned to me why people here are leery of things like this and I can understand it.

Since my intelligence has been brought into this, I have worked in healthcare for 17 years, taking a few years to be a stay at home mother to 3 (the last of which is entering school this fall). I made the decision to go back to school to fulfill my goals. I have done so while raising my 3 children, I've maintained a 3.8 GPA (most of which has been nursing classes). I'm currently working towards an MBA and sitting for my states administrator license exam. I've worked very, very hard to be where I am currently.

I'm just sad to see so much negativity and judgment thrown at a complete stranger.

heron, ASN, RN · May 26, 2015

And there's your problem: first you turn up with a hidden agenda - that you're using us for homework - without, apparently, making any attempt to learn the site's preferred practice regarding helping with homework. Then, when confronted with the reality of our experience, we are told that what we expect from students seeking to use us "holds no credibility" for you as an administrator. To top it all off, we're mow being chastised for negativity.

Well, here's what I need from administrators: leave the back office games in administration. It may get you somewhere with the other suits, but it just wastes our time. When you deal with us, tell us the real story without all the corporate happy talk and spin.

Stop being so threatened when you're criticized ... and stop using threats to make us play nice. (We'll be "mentioned in" your report? Really? Is that supposed to embarrass us into submission?)

If you don't want to hear the answer, don't ask the question.

This won't help you with your current assignment, but I strongly suggest that you spend some time browsing AN to start getting a sense of the good, the bad and the ugly of our culture. And remember - most of us have highly effective BS meters - and no time for shoveling.

kbakrevs · May 26, 2015

And there's your problem: first you turn up with a hidden agenda - that you're using us for homework - without, apparently, making any attempt to learn the site's preferred practice regarding helping with homework. Then, when confronted with the reality of our experience, we are told that what we expect from students seeking to use us "holds no credibility" for you as an administrator.
Well, here's what I need from administrators: leave the back office games in administration. It may get you somewhere with the other suits, but it just wastes our time. When you deal with us, tell us the real story without all the corporate happy talk and spin. Stop being so threatened when you're criticized ... and stop using threats to make us play nice. (We'll be "mentioned in" your report? Really? Is that supposed to embarrass us into submission?)
If you don't want to hear the answer, don't ask the question.
This won't help you with your current assignment, but I strongly suggest that you spend some time browsing AN to start getting a sense of the good, the bad and the ugly of our culture. And remember - most of us have highly effective BS meters.

Yes, all the comments will be mentioned, as that's what the report is about....your comments to the questions originally asked. As I have previously stated, the assignment was to join a listserv, ask questions pertaining to your career choice, and then write a two page report on the responses you get. It's not a threat, and embarrass you into submission? Submission of what exactly? There is no "hidden agenda". I'm sorry you perceived it as that.

Thanks for your response.

NGYSUN, BSN, MSN, RN · May 26, 2015

Just google "what nurses will love to change about their profession" or "changes needed in nursing profession" and pop you have it... Best of luck...

canigraduate · May 26, 2015

And there's your problem: first you turn up with a hidden agenda - that you're using us for homework - without, apparently, making any attempt to learn the site's preferred practice regarding helping with homework. Then, when confronted with the reality of our experience, we are told that what we expect from students seeking to use us "holds no credibility" for you as an administrator.
Well, here's what I need from administrators: leave the back office games in administration. It may get you somewhere with the other suits, but it just wastes our time. When you deal with us, tell us the real story without all the corporate happy talk and spin. Stop being so threatened when you're criticized ... and stop using threats to make us play nice. (We'll be "mentioned in" your report? Really? Is that supposed to embarrass us into submission?)
If you don't want to hear the answer, don't ask the question.
This won't help you with your current assignment, but I strongly suggest that you spend some time browsing AN to start getting a sense of the good, the bad and the ugly of our culture. And remember - most of us have highly effective BS meters.

Ouch. Put the guns down and back away. Slowly...

I think the OP meant that this is getting put in her report to let the instructor know that it's a bad assignment, not to "tattle" on us.

This person isn't even in administration yet and you're equating them with administrators you have apparently had a bad experience with. Not everyone is a douche, albeit administration has a higher proportion than normal.

It is not realistic to expect people to pop up on here and instantly be AN experts. It took me a year to be able to post intelligently, and I still don't always manage it. When a poster comes on here with the best of intentions and unrealistically hopeful expectations, it hurts to get slammed the way you just did.

Y'all need to lighten up.

By the way, why is it suddenly the height of evil to post homework? This person has acknowledged their error. I thought AN was supposed to be student-friendly. It seems more like vultures circling the unwary, lately.

heron, ASN, RN · May 26, 2015

Not the height of evil - nor am I unaware that the OP is a student.

In fact, I answered her question. One of the things I want most to change about administrations I've worked with over the years are the hidden agendas and mind games used to keep the bedside caregivers in line and their services profitable.

Don't ask the question if you don't want to hear the answer, warts and all.

SmilingBluEyes · May 26, 2015

I mean no hostility. I was trying to explain why you are being received as you are. I mean no insult nor would ever presume to say you are not smart enough for administration. In fact, I wish you luck with that goal. If you are sincere, and I think you are, you may make an excellent administrator.

I resent colleges sending people to sites like this, asking all kinds of questions, that are clearly pertaining to trying to gain information for homework. Professors should know better. Research is NOT getting on a list-serve or forum like this and asking questions without first introducing yourself properly, stating the reason for your post and what your opinions are before asking ours. Research is much more scientific than that, and much more upfront and organized. Anyone can jump on a forum and ask a bunch of questions of its members and draw what may not be honest or accurate conclusions, simply because they have no way of knowing with whom they are dealing.

It's the internet: How do you KNOW I am nurse? How can you be sure I know what I say I do? How do you know I have the qualifications to provide the answers you need to complete a thorough assignment? Answer: YOU DO NOT know these things. So, I could be leading you down a merry path, saying things that are untrue or deliberately misleading, and you would not know who I really am. It's happened here many times before.

The best thing to do is always to interview live people/nurses and know their credentials before drawing conclusions and completing an assignment based on such conclusions. The internet is rife with posers, imposters, liars, and wanna-be's. You have no idea with whom you are dealing here. That is why I say it would have been better for your professor to design the assignment in a way that nets the most truthful, accurate, and meaningful results.

Anyhow, I am not trying to be rude, and I do hope you pass our opinions on to your instructor. This was a poorly-constructed assignment and at the least he/she should have told you how to approach a group like this, and what to reveal before asking our help and advice/opinions. People were leery because this is far from the first homework assignment we have been asked to help someone with. In the future, it would be useful for any student to introduce him/herself and state the purpose of their post, ask their questions and provide their already-thought-out opinions and research. That would be much more well-received.

I do wish you the best! Please, take my post in the spirit intended: to be helpful to you and future students.

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · May 26, 2015

I'm going into administration and I want to know the nurses viewpoints on how their administrators are running things. What realistic changes would you like to see? How can we be more involved? What can we do that would help you?

Because each facility, unit, floor is different, made up of all sorts of nurses, aides, unit clerks and the like, the best way to know what changes need to happen and what help you could be is by asking them. And not only listening to their answers, but actually DOING something about it.

And don't ever be afraid to put your scrubs on, especially when the floor is hopping, and ask what you can do then to help. IE: Can I help by passing a few patient's meds for you? I will change and document that wound in room 547? Or even, "I have 2 hours, what can I do for you?"

And most importantly, if your unit states that they are overworked, don't have enough nurses, and that patient ratios are much too large.....do something about it. Recruit, retain......and get peer thoughts about new hires.

Best wishes!

kbakrevs · May 26, 2015

Thank you for your response, I appreciate it.

kbakrevs · May 26, 2015

I mean no hostility. I was trying to explain why you are being received as you are. I mean no insult nor would ever presume to say you are not smart enough for administration. In fact, I wish you luck with that goal. If you are sincere, and I think you are, you may make an excellent administrator.
I resent colleges sending people to sites like this, asking all kinds of questions, that are clearly pertaining to trying to gain information for homework. Professors should know better. Research is NOT getting on a list-serve or forum like this and asking questions without first introducing yourself properly, stating the reason for your post and what your opinions are before asking ours. Research is much more scientific than that, and much more upfront and organized. Anyone can jump on a forum and ask a bunch of questions of its members and draw what may not be honest or accurate conclusions, simply because they have no way of knowing with whom they are dealing.
It's the internet: How do you KNOW I am nurse? How can you be sure I know what I say I do? How do you know I have the qualifications to provide the answers you need to complete a thorough assignment? Answer: YOU DO NOT know these things. So, I could be leading you down a merry path, saying things that are untrue or deliberately misleading, and you would not know who I really am. It's happened here many times before.
The best thing to do is always to interview live people/nurses and know their credentials before drawing conclusions and completing an assignment based on such conclusions. The internet is rife with posers, imposters, liars, and wanna-be's. You have no idea with whom you are dealing here. That is why I say it would have been better for your professor to design the assignment in a way that nets the most truthful, accurate, and meaningful results.
Anyhow, I am not trying to be rude, and I do hope you pass our opinions on to your instructor. This was a poorly-constructed assignment and at the least he/she should have told you how to approach a group like this, and what to reveal before asking our help and advice/opinions. People were leery because this is far from the first homework assignment we have been asked to help someone with. In the future, it would be useful for any student to introduce him/herself and state the purpose of their post, ask their questions and provide their already-thought-out opinions and research. That would be much more well-received.
I do wish you the best! Please, take my post in the spirit intended: to be helpful to you and future students.

Really good advice, thank you. I wondered about this assignment from the start, but it has to be completed. I think most don't realize that I'm not looking for them to DO my homework for me. I had to ask the questions to get responses. Now I have to write a report on the type of responses I got, not necessarily what each individual said. I'm not even sure how it has gotten to the point it has, with most being so hostile, but it has definitely turned me off of message boards for the future. If something like this is assigned to me again I'll at least know what to do differently.

SmilingBluEyes · May 26, 2015

I am sorry you are turned off to message boards based on your experiences here. I do believe a lot of people came forward with earnest, well-thought replies to your original questions. I can't speak for everyone here, but I do say I am sorry and hope you are not discouraged by what you saw here.

You have a large cross-section of nurses here, and many of us have had horrid experiences with administrators who could not possibly care less about the people working under them, nor the horrendous conditions under which they are asked to perform a most important task: Taking care of vulnerable human beings. Nursing is rife with overworked, under-paid and unappreciated positions and it seems we are always told to "do more with less and don't complain because we can be replaced". That is a prevalent mentality of many administrators. It's discouraging and dangerous.

Most of us came into nursing, not only for a secure career, but out of a strong desire to make a difference in others' lives. More and more, we are doing things that have NOTHING to do with caring for people, and just being fodder for the bottom line. We experienced nurses are being replaced with cheaper, new graduate nurses who while they mean well, can't possibly be ready to take over. Our experience, input and knowledge is insulted, disrespected and disregarded by a majority of "stockholders" and administrators, who love to walk around with clipboards, make up scripts for us to use which make us look silly to our patients, and cut our staffing to the bone----all to protect the bottom line and their nice bonuses.

There is a huge disconnect between nursing/hospital administration and the nurses and others/ancillary staff on the front lines, trying to protect, not the bottom line, but our patients. You will run into a lot of frustration if you choose to be a hospital or nursing administrator. How you act will determine how decent an administrator you will be.

Please, take what you can use from here, and leave the rest that is not helpful. And good luck with your future endeavors. If you are earnest, I would welcome someone like you in administration.

kbakrevs · May 26, 2015

I am sorry you are turned off to message boards based on your experiences here. I do believe a lot of people came forward with earnest, well-thought replies to your original questions. I can't speak for everyone here, but I do say I am sorry and hope you are not discouraged by what you saw here. You have a large cross-section of nurses here, and many of us have had horrid experiences with administrators who could not possibly care less about the people working under them, nor the horrendous conditions under which they are asked to perform a most important task : Taking care of vulnerable human beings. Nursing is rife with overwork, under-paid and unappreciated positions and it seems we are always told : " do more with less and don't complain because you can be replaced". That is a prevalent mentality of many administrators. It's discouraging and dangerous.
Please, take what you can use from here, and leave the rest that is not helpful. And good luck with your future endeavors. If you are earnest, I would welcome someone like you in administration.

Thank you very much for the thoughtful words. The information that I've seen from the posters who actually responded to my questions, have mimicked my own view points. I mentioned in another post that I've been in healthcare for 17 years, I understand fully how bad administration can be (another point I should have mentioned in the original post), it's one of the many reasons I chose to go into this career field. I'm hoping that I can make a change for the better.

Again, thank you. :)