Would your managers get lost in the ED?

ERteleRN · Sep 29, 2004

Does this happen other places or is your experience better? Our managers don't seem to have a clue what is going on in the ER. I truely doubt whether any of them could find things in an emergency!

I have to say that our night shift nursing supervisors are some of the best where I work. They frequently make rounds on all of the floors and ED to see how things are going (and what beds are truely open and available, instead of taking one of the floor nurses word via telephone). When we are swamped in the ED, they jump in to help us get caught up. One of the sups used to work full-time in the ED, and continues to work once a week as a staff ED nurse. Our unit manager also used to be a staff nurse in the ED (and a very good one at that). I have a lot of respect for most of my managers. We all work together to get the job done and to take care of all our patients. Everyone has their own roles in this industry, and we can't 'unionize' against one another playing the over-worked floor nurse against the 'suit sitting high and mighty up in the penthouse'. I know I wouldn't want to shoulder their responsibilities of staffing issues, conflicts between employees or family members (just to mention a couple of minute responsibilities they perform).

wam79 · Sep 29, 2004

I have one like that never works with the patients. Too many meetings. Too much paper work ect... I feel that as manager of any area you should have the ability to function in that area even to just help when very busy ect... My manager flat out refuses to work on the ward. "It's not my job, I was hired as an administrator":o This same person has the nerve to look suprised when staff do not want to do "extra" to help on the ward... Clueless.. . Now the same person has "managed" to have more than half of the staff to file complaints

LaNorteBellaRN · Sep 29, 2004

I worked in a small community hospital ED for 5 years and then bacame the department manager. I always had the opionion that you do, department managers should have the skills and knowledge to be able to perform in their respective units. When I started as manager, I thought the fact that I knew the department so well would be advantageous because I knew the process, policies, staff AND how to function effectively if needed. I soon realized that being a seasoned member of that department for so many years did only one thing for me...... created hostility from the staff because I knew how to "work in the department" and would sometimes not come in to replace sick calls or come in and work as staff when it was busy. Their expectation was that since I was the manager and used to be a staff nurse that I come in if sick calls could not be replaced. The reality of the situation was that I was not an ER staff nurse, I was the department manager and that position brings forth a whole different load of accountability and responsibility. I suddenly was responsible for every nurse and tech in the dept, I had to make sure their competencies and certifications were up to date. I had to review charts to make sure charges were not being missed because of my administrative responsibilities and financial accountability to the corporation. Just to name a few. I think the emphasis should be that the manager knows how the department functions, not knows how to function in the department. I know that you said that their job was important too, but you should really think about just how important it is. I don't think one job is more valuable than the other, just different. Managers take a bad wrap alot of the times when in reality, most staff nurses will admit they wouldn't want to do the job themselves.

Now all that being said, I know there are horrible managers out there. It is a shame when your doctors don't know who your deparment manager is. I don't even begin to understand how that can happen. But for those of us out there who take pride in our profession and career choices as administrative nurses and not bedside nurses, it sometimes gets frustrating to hear about all the downfalls managers have.

But we do exist. Those managers who aren't in the dark ages when it comes to nursing. We can still work along side the front line staff and keep our heads above water. We still keep our ACLS, PALS, NRP, TNCC and ENPC up to date. We're actually still nurses, we're just wearing a different cap :)

ERNurse752, RN · Sep 29, 2004

I don't think our ED Director even knows where the ED *is!*

trauma_junkie1 · Sep 29, 2004

I have to say that our night shift nursing supervisors are some of the best where I work. They frequently make rounds on all of the floors and ED to see how things are going (and what beds are truely open and available, instead of taking one of the floor nurses word via telephone). When we are swamped in the ED, they jump in to help us get caught up.

Yeah, we have some house supervisors like that too. I'm talking about the actual Unit managers for the ED. We have 3...a director and 2 managers under her, plus 2 more managers that oversee the clerks and billing, plus 2 full time patient care techs who - ironically - don't ever see patients. They simply serve as secretary/assistants/scutmonkeys for the managers. We also have 2 or 3 staff nurses who only work 1/2 time in the ED and 1/2 time doing administration. No, I'm not a manager, but come on! Is there really THAT much that needs to be done on the other side of the hall? Meanwhile, we often work 2 or 3 nurses down because of staffing issues.

flashpoint · Sep 29, 2004

Nope...my manager could run circles around most of us. She is one of the best ED nurses I have worked with and I have a huge amount of respect for her. She's a great manager, but it was sort of disappointing when she left the floor for management.