What is your manager like?...Managers please also lend insight here.

[nlhnurse1982]

So my current manager is a great source of distress for our entire floor. Her priorities seem to be way off base, patient care is not on the top of that list! I am just curious if this is the norm if it is I guess I will just stay put where I am but it's to the point I really want a transfer because of her. An example of this is when she rounds on patients they may fill out cards for us if the wish to give kudos....most times I will get compliments from my patients but that doesnt matter she hunts me down even if I am with another patient to let me know I did not update my information board in the room not to say hey good job this patient thought enough of you to fill out a compliment card.. I would be glad to update the board if each board had a dry erase on it...however I am not going to search a 40 bed floor for the 1 marker we have remaining. and how bout her giving me a call on my direct phone when I am dealing with a patient emergency and when I say hey I'll stop by your office after I am done with this emergency that isnt good enough she wants me to stay on the phone to talk about a pending d/c of another pt...I wanted to say that person can wait to be d/c'd home unless you want this guy d/c'd to the funeral home!!! You can't approach her with a concern about anything or your not being a team player not even about a new grad who is making multiple mistakes off orientation and then giving attitude when being told becareful of this, or someone who sent home a patient with a mediport still accessed or a nurse who bolused a patient with a dose of dilaudid 10 times what they should have gotten and then of course we ended up coding her. However she finds it important to call people at home and ream them because a patient went to ssu with underwear on. And how about helping on the unit if you ask her for a simple boost she will have you walk around the floor twice asking everyone else before she will come out from behind her desk and help. Then she will complain to other management that none of us are involved in councils when many of us have asked and she says well most of the seats are full now anyway. And also shouldnt further education be encouraged....the answers I have gotten about my schedule being changed so I can take ACLS since we are a tele floor is...no.... how about a class on the resposibilities of a charge nurse and what is expected since I have been having to work as charge.....again no.....how about the spanish class for medical providers since we are a city hospital....nope sorry....trach education since we are now getting ALL fresh trachs on our floor.....nah who needs that just go in blind and hope for the best. Sorry for the long ranting post however I did find it therapeutic . This person is my first nursing manager so I have nothing to compare her to if you all could tell me if this is the stauts quo of managers it would help very much with my decision.

[MedSurgeMess]

She sounds like a doozie......I'm glad that my dept director and 2 dept managers seem to have common sense....they promote education and are always willing to help. They ALL will work on the floor if we are shorthanded. It makes for great mutual respect and a real teamwork atmosphere. I won't lie and say they're perfect, since I'm sure that perfect would be the last term they would use for me as well, but considering what I hear others say about their management, my coworkers and I have it made! I wouldn't trade my set of management for anything right now.

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

Mine have common sense. They were bedside before management. They are still bound to the PG scores, but everything is definitely more of a collaborative effort.

Thank goodness.

[RN1982]

My managers play favorites. I get called into the office for stupid crap like being negative over things that really need to be resolved. For example, I offered some alternative solutions on how to do our shift report and I was labelled negative and that while I do send the occassional nice email ( none are never acknowledged), I'm just stacking good crap on top of bad crap and am bringing the team down. So I'm waiting for my transfer.

Back to the subject of favorites, I started on the unit six months before another nurse did, they let her start precepting 3 months out of orientation, mind you she has no other ICU experience. Not only that she is now in charge and stated the other night she wishes to take on more charge shifts so she doesn't have to do bedside care. My managers think she is absolutely wonderful even though she is snarky and rude to patients.

My NM is cold as ice and unapproachable. My ANAM treats me like a child/idiot and has even chastized me like one in the hallway in front of other staff. And they also ignore practice issues with some of the RNs...dangerous practice issues.

I want a manager who is consistent and is supportive. And my managers are none of the above. And the more I have to deal with them, makes me bitter towards nursing and depressed.

[tencat]

What IS it with managers, anyway???? Does becoming one kill brain cells? I work hard, do things with a smile, and am willing to help out. So when something really crappy comes up and I complain about it (never complained or took a stand before this), I get told to hand in my resignation if I'm unhappy......how does THAT help with the issue??? Believe me, I was tempted to....there might be some good managers out there, but I have found that the good managers get fed up with the garbage and often quit....and the phenomenon is not confined to nursing.

[mizfradd, CNA]

our manager (except she has red hair)

our manager is like a nervous, vicious poodle. there is a book on training vicious poodles to change their behavior. one of the nurses at work said she might buy it and apply some of the retraining principles to our manager.

here are some of the behaviors that match exactly with having a vicious poodle vs. our vicious manager:

excessive whining and yapping. (need i say more?)

will only respond to obedience training when feels like it. (like when the big boss is around.)

hyper-active and won’t leave you alone and constantly pesters you. (oh heck yeah!)

either jumps on you, your family, visitors, or is nervous and unfriendly. (yep, luvs to jump on the nurses every chance she can!)

destructive chewing. anything is seen as fair game. (uh, she sure likes to chew on our butts!)

very possessive of space and will growl and show teeth at anyone. (yep, she looks at us crazy whenever we come near her or her office, even though she claims to have an open door policy.)

refusing to come back when called – there are far too many other interesting sights and stuff to get into and cause trouble. (so true, she luvs to go looking around the unit trying to find something to cause trouble about!)

is possessive with food and certain people and may show aggression if you try to take them away. (okay, maybe not with food, but she definitely shows aggression and acts possessive over certain kiss-butt people.)

unacceptable ‘mouthing’ – and will chew or bite. (loves to mouth off and chew nurses butts!)

is stubborn and willful and refuses to listen to what you say. (omg!!!, describes her perfectly!!! exactly 100% correct!!!!!)

=======================

if you fail to communicate with your poodle, your life will become a constant battle of wills!

'poodle savvy’ contains everything you need to know about your poodle and making it behave!

your problems are solved! - solve problems with your poodle quickly and easily - amongst things you’ll find out:

when to give your poodle attention and when to ignore – and why this is critical to good behavior!

how to talk to your poodle so it will listen – it’s all to do with tone of voice but does not involve shouting.

how to show your poodle who’s boss - just by the way you talk or act.

the most effective ways to obedience train a stubborn poodle!!

so, do you think the rn ought to buy 'poodle savvy' & we all could try it out on the manager?

[color=white]&

[bperryman]

ladies and gentlemen,

I don't know how many of you are Christians, but PRAYER changes things. If you are being treated unfairly

PRAY that God either move you or them. No one deserves to be treated badly. Take those managers to

prayer and watch God move on your behalf. The bible says, the Lord will make your enemies your footstool.

Meanwhile, do what you are told with a smile. Love you!!

I will be lifting you guys up in prayer.

Love,

Barbara in Houston, Texas

[bperryman]

TurnLeftSide: Hold on and be strong. That one person who has her own personal agenda and motives; her day is coming. Her true colors will surface at the right time. Meanwhile, just continue to do your job so that no one can anything negative about your job performance. Trouble don't last always- remember that prayer changes things. Don't let frustruation or depression get the best of you. Love you!!

Barbara in Houston, Texas

[bperryman]

tencat: Your willingness to help and do the right thing will be rewarded. Continue to do your job with a smile and enthusiasm. Meanwhile, if you are considering leaving that particular job, please wait until you have another one lined up. We can't control how other people behave; we can only control our behavior. Send your prayers up and watch the blessings come down. Love you!

Barbara in Houston, Texas

[mizfradd, CNA]

my managers play favorites. i get called into the office for stupid crap like being negative over things that really need to be resolved.for example, i offered some alternative solutions on how to do our shift report and i was labelled negative and that while i do send the occassional nice email ( none are never acknowledged), i'm just stacking good crap on top of bad crap and am bringing the team down. so i'm waiting for my transfer.

back to the subject of favorites, i started on the unit six months before another nurse did, they let her start precepting 3 months out of orientation, mind you she has no other icu experience. not only that she is now in charge and stated the other night she wishes to take on more charge shifts so she doesn't have to do bedside care. my managers think she is absolutely wonderful even though she is snarky and rude to patients.

my nm is cold as ice and unapproachable. my anam treats me like a child/idiot and has even chastized me like one in the hallway in front of other staff. and they also ignore practice issues with some of the rns...dangerous practice issues.

i want a manager who is consistent and is supportive. and my managers are none of the above. and the more i have to deal with them, makes me bitter towards nursing and depressed.

those are all the same major issues that the rn's complain about at our workplace! one poor nurse was broken out in hives (after dealing with the manager) when she left after work the other day. and, the poor woman has to worry about something she doesn't even know what it's about...over the wknd., to come into work tomorrow and have to deal with!?! this particular nurse is excellent at her job & has never had problems before this manager started employment with us.

and our nurses are all doing things like what bperryman has suggested, but one has to wonder when will the good guys win?!

thank goodness we have allnurses to gather at when we need to vent! :[anb]:

[caliotter3]

I have never been told the name of my Director of Clinical Services. She did not interview me for hire and has never spoken to me. The nursing supervisor recently was replaced. The new one called and left a message for me and didn't even identify herself, by name or job title. I don't know whether all of this is good, or bad.

[jbjelus1]

There was a time when I was considering going into management, however I have since changed my mine. I have seen many people that were once floor nurses totally loose their sense of direction once they go into mangement. I am well aware of the fact that you have to look at management in a different perspective than floor nursing but it just seems that people really do change once they go into management. After observing peers that have gone into management I know now that it is not the role for me, because i would probably get fired for trying to be fair. Nursing is stressful enough in my opinion, so why make it harder