Nurse Manager Interview - Essay Example

Nurse Manager Interview Nurse Manager Interview I am a registered nurse working as charge nurse in a Nursing and Rehabilitation facility and it has been my aim to be a nurse manager in future either within my current employment organization or in another organization. It is from this passion and willingness to know more on the roles of a nurse manager and the aspects of the job that I requested an interview with a nurse manager to which this paper will be mainly giving an expose on the interview and the impact the interview had on my wish to be a nurse manager. To be granted the interview I requested the nurse manager to help me understand better who a nurse manager is, as part of my coursework for completing my RN BS Option at Stevenson. Tuesday, 27 May 2014 was convenient for both of us at 10: 00 am and after introducing the purpose of the interview, and seeking for permission to record the conversation where he accepted. From the interview, I learned the roles of a nurse manager, dealt with in the proceeding part, and this had an impact on my decision to pursue a nursing manager role. Nurse Manager Role The nurse manager had some insights on the job including that his official title in the organization was Nurse Manager and his roles include ensuring nurses in the organization are practicing in a manner aimed at augmenting quality, efficiency, and excellence (Haase-Herrick & Ott, March 2006). A nurse manager is responsible for the provision of administrative and operational roles for an entire unit of patients in an organization through management and coordination of patient care operations. The nurse manager is a leader of the nurses in a department and is involved in charting the way forward for the nursing department in providing healthcare services for continued excellence in the organization (Cipriano, March 2011). The nurse manager also revealed that he is responsible for all personnel under his department advocating for better working conditions and determining their schedules to aid in making better schedules considering their personal requirements for augmented satisfaction and motivation for their work. The nurse manager also makes measures to ensure the personnel develop both personally and professionally for the betterment of their ability to provide quality service and augment job effectiveness (Shirey, 2006). The other description of the role from the nurse manager was that it involves ensuring nurses stay focused and united for the achievement of set goals and objectives. This is in line with the supervisory roles he has on 20 members of the health care delivery department involved in provision of nursing care for patients at the organization. A nursing manager role also involves association with people beyond the nursing fraternity, but within the health care docket, including assistive personnel, chaplains, social workers, pharmacists, among other personnel. The other association expected of a nurse manager is with clinical officers and frontline managers for the development of a desired direction and goals for the organization within a specified period. This is achieved through striving to achieve consistency in practices and accountability in the organization through monitoring and encouraging performance at unit level, where the nurse manager is responsible for the nursing unit of the organization (Shirey, 2006). Mentoring of lower cadre personnel within the nursing unit are the other roles of the nurse manager, as described in the interview. Ensuring communication is done in an effective and timely manner for the delivery of quality health care by all the unit’s personnel are the other roles of the nurse manager. Other roles of a nurse manager include identification of new standards, procedures, and policies for implementation both within the organization and across systems and he takes, an active role in the development and implementing of these policies aimed at promoting quality health care. The nurse manager described working with others in a similar role as fulfilling and inspiring due to sharing of knowledge and ideas and satisfaction derived from serving people and providing better care for both the young and the elderly. Working with staff who report to the nurse manager he says entails having good communication, setting a brilliant example, and having interpersonal relation skills, as the lower members of the unit look up to the nurse manager for direction, guidance, and mentorship. Ensuring professionalism and creating an open relationship with staff reporting to the nurse manger, he said, were very important in developing a motivated, satisfied, and hardworking staff for the achievement of better results in the nursing unit and the organization. The nurse manager cited the ability to ensure patients are happy and well taken care for daily by the nursing team, as the most satisfying role he plays as a nurse manager. He stated this as “putting a smile on the patient’s faces”. The most difficult part of the nurse manager job is filling vacancies and ensuring the unit is fully staffed. The advice given for a person interested in being a nurse manager is to aim at developing communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills and to be ready to work with people from different backgrounds and environments and one will be successful as a nurse manager, which is a satisfying and pleasing job to have in healthcare (Shirey, 2006). The last point from the nurse manager was that a nurse manager job is a step towards the achievement of the position of a nurse executive responsible for practice, strategic planning, promotional development, advocating for human resource, and ensuring an environment that sustains clinical excellence in the organization. My experience during the interview I had a wonderful experience interacting with a person working in a position I wish to achieve and it was awesome sharing ideas and learning from the best. This increased my aim to work as a nurse manager in future due to the responsibilities and accountability that come with the role and the ability to interact help other people as this is one on my main aims in life. Lessons learned I learned numerous lessons during the interview including the roles expected of a person to be successful as a nurse manager, the core competencies and skills required of a nurse manger, the need to augment my skills in line with working and relating with other people as the requirements for effective leadership. The other lessons include the need that a nurse manger acts as a bridge between the management of the organization and the personnel in a nursing unit and the need for a nurse manager to interact and share ideas with other people beyond the nursing and patient care area to benefit of the organization as a whole. Inspirations from the nurse manage that inspired me to want to achieve that role in future I was inspired by the nurse manager and I am know more motivated and willing to pursue the dream to be a nurse manage in future due to the satisfaction and confidence depicted by the nurse manager. The nurse manager also instilled a sense of commitment and care for the people in need of help and being responsible for it through the personnel under the nurse manager, making me want to achieve this as part of my future career plans. References Haase-Herrick, K. & Ott, K. (March 2006). Working Statement Comparing the Clinical Nurse Leader and Nurse Manager Roles: Similarities, Differences, and Complementarities. American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Cipriano, P. (March 2011). Move up to the role of nurse manager. American Nurse Today, 6(3), 61-62. Shirey, M. (2006). Authentic leaders creating healthy work environments for nursing practice. American Journal of Critical Care, 15(3), 256-267. Read More