What is it like to be a nurse manager?

Specialties Management

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How many people report to you as a nurse manager?

How do you set priorities in your work?

What's your role in the hiring process?

Do you have any time management tricks that a new nurse could benefit from?

These are just some of the questions I have about the nurse manager role, if you can answer any of them, I'd appreciate it! Thank you for your time and expertise!

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Specializes in Surgical, quality,management.

Politely,

Do your homework properly. Set up a zoom meeting with a manager.

You cannot be certain that anyone on this forum is a manager or even a nurse.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

I just play a nurse manager on TV. Really, I'm a hairy man who lives in his mother's basement.

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Specializes in Surgical, quality,management.
6 hours ago, klone said:

I just play a nurse manager on TV. Really, I'm a hairy man who lives in his mother's basement.

I ALWAYS thought so.

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Specializes in Surgical Specialty Clinic - Ambulatory Care.

I do hope someone off the street gives this a stab. I have a BSN and 12 years experience, but watching every manager I’ve ever had has only given me two opinions 1)I can’t stand them because they didn’t work the job before coming manager and all their expectations are stupid or 2) They are great, chip in when they can, supportive people who NEVER get to go home or be off....and since I feel working 50 or more hours a week is to much, why on EARTH would I want more responsibility with essentially less pay because it’s salaried?!

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Being a nurse manager has it’s ups and downs. You have to diplomatic since you have to be advocate for the nurses but also you have a role as a leader in the organization as well being a nurse management. Being a nurse manager is stressful because at the end the day everything falls on you essentially and sometimes you have to be the bad guy with his right ups, hiring and firing people. I have been in management for 3 years and it’s rewarding and stressful at the same time. 

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Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.
On 4/18/2020 at 1:39 PM, Neve said:

How many people report to you as a nurse manager?

About 25, roughly two-thirds of those being nursing staff.

How do you set priorities in your work?

I work in a correctional facility, so we have to work around security concerns, which always take precedence. We attend to emergencies, then second priority is clinic appointments. The COVID pandemic has caused us to take on roles that are neither customary nor staffed for, and that has been a daily challenge.

What's your role in the hiring process?

I review the roster of applicants and their applications, and I perform preliminary screening if the numbers warrant it. I head the interview panel, which usually consists of three people. We discuss each applicant after the interview, and make our selection at the end. Anyone advanced for employment must still pass a criminal background check and a pre-employment drug screen (both of which some people have failed).

Do you have any time management tricks that a new nurse could benefit from?

Apart from general people skills, the best tool for you to develop is time management. Key to this is prioritization. Do the important things first, pay attention to deadlines, and accept that there will be things at the end of the day that won't get finished. Don't take work home. Working off the clock is a fast track to burnout. You need time away from the job, and very few things are such emergencies that they cannot be left until the next working day.

 

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