I am currently working to obtain my MSN with a concentration in Executive Leadership and I want to start making moves now to increase my management experience. I want to do as much as I can now to boost my resume for when I graduate. Ideally I would like to be a Manager on a unit after I graduate and work my way up the career ladder from there. I have an opportunity to transition into an RN Case Management position and was wondering if this would help my resume or if I should be seeking out other positions or just stay put? Below I have listed my past and present experience:
1. Adult Medical ICU (1 year)
2. Adult Neuroscience ICU (1 year)
3. Pediatric Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (current employment and have been here for 2.5 years with occasional charge nurse responsibilities)
Specializes in Emergency, Case Management, Informatics.
Some healthcare employers have policies that they don't promote people to be the "boss" of people with whom they used to be equals.
This is good to have in mind when considering candidates, but very poor practice to make a unilateral, hard-stance policy preventing promotion within the unit. I agree with looking for opportunities on other units, but this kind of inflexibility is typical of poor leadership.
I have never heard of places not promoting from within. I've worked and seen hospitals, LTC, home care, etc... promote from within. I was promoted from within from a noc position to a day position as a charge. Federal and state promote from within. Everyone promotes from within. The power over previous staff is not something I've ever heard of. We are adults.
I could even say it sounds like discrimination . Good for you to apply; I would be very interested to see the reason "why" you are not selected if you don't get it. I've worked state, and they actually have a policy that dictates to hire within prior to looking outside. Can your manager point out a policy that states such, or is it the person's personal preference? Hmmmm; very interesting...
If it's the person's personal preference, that could be illegal...unless there is a policy stating so (if one pops up, look at the date created). Oh, our funny nursing world; the things I've seen.
I am not 100% sure if it is a policy yet or not. I know my institution has re-vamped the Care ZTeam Leader role/requirements but I have yet to actually see if this is a policy. But like I said it seems like a lot of the units are doing the same thing my boss is. Our last two Care Team Leaders were promoted from within and both stepped down and even transferred to different units. Honestly, I am not sure if I would even enjoy working under my boss as a CTL. I feel that she is incompetent and makes poor decisions. She even told me that unit rules "change depending on her mood" which I highly disagree with and I think is completely unprofessional. I act as CTL now (intermediately) and I get zero support from her when we need back-up. I think my two options are 1. Stay on my current unit as a staff nurse and find a mentor on another unit OR 2. find a CTL position on another unit for the next 1.5 years until I graduate from school.
Some healthcare employers have policies that they don't promote people to be the "boss" of people with whom they used to be equals. You can get promoted to permanent charge nurse, NM, etc., on a different unit, but not on the unit you've been working on all this time. A lot of people in business in general consider it a bad idea (and setting the person up for failure) to put people in the position of supervising people with whom they used to be peers. I've seen a lot of people get burned by that (getting promoted to be the boss of their former coworkers). IMO, your manager is showing good judgment.
OP, are you keeping an eye out for charge nurse positions on other units? Have you talked with your manager (or other higher level people in the organization you feel comfortable talking to) about your goals and how you might be working toward them within that organization?
This is an excellent post and piece of general advice.
It really would have been ideal for OP's manager (mentoring the newer nurse) to explain the rationale for the decision, and allowing the OP to come to her own conclusion about whether or not to seek other opportunities for growth. Heck, all these managers know each other and who is looking for what! Such a frustrating roadblock, to simply be told "we're not hiring anyone from our own unit." Probably another unit has exactly the same situation going on. And so forth...
I truly believe that nobody gets ahead without someone else, even in the sense of networking and sharing ideas. And when nobody gets ahead, well, nobody gets ahead.
I work LTC and we often promote within. Several of our unit managers actually started out as CNAs or LPNs and returned to school and ended up moving up. The staff generally respect these managers more because they know that the UM has been in their position before and worked hard to get to where they are. The UMs also understand what the jobs they supervise consist of and how hard those employees work.
Specializes in Float Pool - A Little Bit of Everything.
Hi OP,
I am in an MSN program as well, focusing in healthcare policy though. I have decided to work my way through clinical ladder and get certified to build my resume, and most importantly to stay on the floor. I think that if we are ever going to tell people how to do their jobs (You through management and me through policy), we should know how to do it ourselves. I think the most clinical experience you can get while building rank on your floor, I feel that is the best plan for success. Most of the successful nurses I have met have followed a similar pattern.
After I finish my MSN, I want to move into case management, utilization review, quality, something along those lines. I have identified those routes as being my personal goal and after speaking with my mentors and professional nurses, I feel that is my best fit. I hope you find yours too.
. Good for you to apply; I would be very interested to see the reason "why" you are not selected if you don't get it. I've worked state, and they actually have a policy that dictates to hire within prior to looking outside. Can your manager point out a policy that states such, or is it the person's personal preference? Hmmmm; very interesting...
Murse901, MSN, RN
731 Posts
This is good to have in mind when considering candidates, but very poor practice to make a unilateral, hard-stance policy preventing promotion within the unit. I agree with looking for opportunities on other units, but this kind of inflexibility is typical of poor leadership.