The Decision To Become a Nurse Manager

Did you ever think of the specific reason or reasons you decided to become a Nurse Manager? My reason, I thought was simple. I felt I would have the opportunity to make positive changes for my organization, implement improvements in patient care, and lead people. This was my vision.

To be a Nurse Manager you must have the interest to share and develop ideas. You must demonstrate emotional intelligence while working with people and be excited about developing staff under your supervision. You would be a mentor and educator.

What I did not visualize as I decided to become a Nurse Manager, was the challenges and obstacles that being a leader would offer. You must be able to accept the challenges and obstacles as a common reality of the Nurse Manager role and use them as tremendous opportunities for professional growth. As you meet these challenges and obstacles, your demonstration of accomplishment will inspire staff under your supervision to succeed as well. Consider these issues when making the decision to pursue a Nurse Manager position. All people are not meant to lead.

Nurse Manager Skills

Skills that will assist you in managing the progress and accomplishments of your clinical team will also be an asset to your success in carrying out quality customer service. Adopting a good skill set is key.

Critical Thinking Skills will help you think clearly and purposefully to address the many complex problems faced in the world of patient care. You will need to quickly create solutions to problems impeding health care delivery, such as staffing issues, customer concerns, advances in technology and skill requirements of nurses under your supervision, etc.

Interpersonal Skills allows you to relate and communicate with others. During your day to day routine, you will relate and communicate with internal/external customers, patients, patients families, vendors, affiliates, and your colleagues.

Technical Skills addresses the proficient use technology to do work. In the Nurse Manager role, you will need to use e-mail for communication and computer programs for various projects and data collection. Procedural skills are assessing the progress or outcomes of work, implementing process improvements and best practices, facilitating staff development and increased knowledge in the field of nursing, and instigating shared governance.

Behavioral skills include organization and time management. Meeting deadlines will be a challenge but a requirement in the Nurse Manager role. Performing work with accuracy is another behavioral skill along with seeking out opportunities to improve and maintain knowledge and skills. This can be done through continuing education, using resources such as current health care journals, and through practice in this chosen profession. The Nurse Manager must also be responsible for maintaining safety in the workplace.

5 Core Nurse Manager Responsibilites

The Nurse Manager has many roles and responsibilities. There are 5 responsibilities, however, that the Nurse Manager must develop and strengthen.

1. Planning: With this responsibility, the manager will set objectives for the health care department they are responsible for.

2. Organizing: Directing and guiding an identified plan for the department and its service to the customer.

3. Leading: Communicating a clear direction for the team and demonstrating a good example of work ethic.

4. Controlling: Initiating process improvements through new policy and procedure, specific to providing exceptional patient care.

5. Coordinating: Understanding the value of the team and its obligation in the organization.

The Nurse Manager Role

As a Nurse Manager, you will function in a leadership capacity within an organization that employs nurses; Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, and Nursing Assistants. As a leader in this profession you will guide nursing staff in the delivery of quality patient care, through sound decision making and shared governance, and staff development. Many other skills of the Nurse Manager are vital for success in our time of financial consciousness, fast paste medical technological advances, and advances in communication technology.

Nurse Managers need to understand the role and how this leadership position will impact those who work under their supervision and alternately impact patient care.

Rule of thumb. Think about all of the bosses, supervisors, and managers, you have had, over the years of your nursing career. Which ones did you admire and why. Which ones did you hate to see coming, why. Emulate the qualitites you admired and avoid duplicating those qualities of the most undesirable leaders.