Scholarship. During my interview for UMMC I was asked if I had a bachelor’s in nursing to which I replied no. I was hired with the agreement that I would pursue my degree with two years of working. This isn’t the ideal way someone wants to continue his or her education. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth feeling forced to pay for more education when you are already licensed as a registered Nurse. At first you feel as though all of the hard work you put into your ADN program is worth pennies because you don’t have BSN next to your name. But then you realize, nursing is no easy task. It requires all that we have learned in this program; the valued ends, presence, praxis, self-care, leadership, advocacy and now scholarship. Having completed
When was the last time you were in the hospital or a loved one was in the hospital, and ever wondered where the nurse is, and they haven 't returned for hours. You finally push the assistance button several times, and they open the door and hurriedly say, “I will be right back”, then you don 't see them for a while again. When they come back to check up on you, you explain to them what you need, and then they send in a less qualified staff member to assist you. At this point, you become very annoyed and frustrated not to mention scared to be admitted in the hospital to begin with. Little do you know, your nurse has ten other patients and other non-nursing tasks that they are responsible taking care of. They have been working a double shift and are extremely exhausted, and a large stack of charts that they will have to do before their shift is over. As a patient, you now become frustrated and are not happy about this; as a nurse, they are just as frustrated as you are, not only because the amount of work they have but more importantly they can 't deliver the appropriate care they long to give. For most hospitals they do not hire enough registered nurses for reasons that are good and bad. This is an issue that needs to be addressed not only locally but nationally and on a constant basis. When there are too many patients for one registered nurse to attend to, nurses become exhausted, mistakes are made, and patients are unsatisfied. A minimum nurse to patient ratio needs to be
When one thinks of leaders, they think of those who hold a high profile position or someone who is highly visible in the public eye. A leader, regardless of prestige is someone who can easily influence and inspire the actions and goals of others. The definition of a leader in Nursing Leadership and Management in Nursing states, “leadership is commonly defined as a process of influence in which the leader influences others towards goal achievement (Kelly, 2012 p.2). Leaders are needed at all levels and nurses take a leadership role by being advocates for their patients. There are many leadership theories and styles in nursing but this paper will focus on transformational leadership and its application to nursing. Transformational leadership is important in nursing, due to its ever changing and ever evolving healthcare methods and technology.
Strong leadership is important for the future of nursing. With all the changes being made today, nurses need to step up and advocate for their profession and working conditions. According to the IOM (2010), nurses should “act as full partners with physicians and other health professionals in redesign and reform efforts across the health care system”. Just as the leaders before us, such as Florence Nightingale, Jean Watson and Betty Neuman, made great contributions to the change in the nursing profession, we need those leaders today to continue making contributions to improve our practice.
Empathy: Carissa is very empathetic to all her patients. She puts herself in their shoes. She is able to identify and share emotions while providing the best care possible. She treats her patients as she wants to be treated (Wilson 2012).
“Since we are a small unit composed of mostly RNs, I sit down with my staff and we go over the budget together. It gives the staff a sense of proprietorship. This way I feel we are sharing the responsibilities and it helps them to understand why we cannot afford a piece of equipment at this time. I can usually depend on someone to think out of the box. Once we went “dumpster diving” for office supplies as one employee suggested. It is actually the hospital’s warehouse for materials nobody wanted. We savaged enough office supplies for the year and was able to purchase a high cost item the unit needed. Plus it was a team building effort.”
Throughout this clinical semester, I have worked with several different registered nurses (RNs) and have been able to develop mentoring relationships with many of the staff on the unit. During our time together, I interviewed several of my nurse mentors and elicited information regarding their nursing experiences and the culture of the environment in which they work. The following conversations provide a summarization of my nurse mentors’ responses to the selected interview questions.
For my interview, I spoke with one of the Nurse Practitioners (NP) that I interact with while working my shift at the hospital. I will call her Terri Smith because although I asked to use her quotes in my paper, I did not think to ask for permission to use her actual name. Where I work, many of our internal medicine physicians are hospitalists. During the night, they are covered by the umbrella of Quest Care. There are several NPs that work under the afore mentioned physicians and are there, on-call, when needed for their clinical expertise. It is nice, because even though I can’t develop much of a relationship with the doctors whose patients I work so hard to take care of, I get to have the opportunity to grow strong bonds with the NPs that I see almost every shift.
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This Nursing leadership interview was conducted with Gessy Targete-Johnson, who is currently the Director of Nursing Family Birthplace at Memorial Miramar Hospital. I decided to conduct my interview on her, due to the fact that this is a career goal I wish to accomplish. She has been in the Nursing Field for over 25 years. Gessy decided to enter the nursing field because, she has compassion for others and she wanted to make a difference in lives. She started out as a Labor & Delivery Nurse in 1991, she later went on to pursue her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing, followed by her Master’s Degree immediately after. Gessy thrives on being productive, and she quickly learned the meaning of the word perseverance. In 2001, she was promoted to Nurse Manager in Labor & Delivery, and worked in that position for 8 years. While maintaining an active role in this area, she also went back to school for her ARNP license. In 2009, she became the Director of Nursing Family Birthplace at Memorial Miramar Hospital.
The following paper discusses the nurse manager’s/leader’s role in healthcare financial management and budgeting. The definition of a budget is a detailed financial plan. The nurse manager/leader is responsible in knowing and understanding the different types and budgets within the healthcare organization: operating, capital expenditure, and cash. The operating budget is the main budget the nurse manager/leader maintains an active role in for the healthcare organization by controlling personnel and supply costs. Collaboration with the nursing staff on the unit as well as other
One of the major functions of a nurse manager is managing a budget and allocating resources necessary to manage the unit or facility effectively. “Major steps in the budgeting process include gathering information and planning, developing unit budgets, developing cash budgets, negotiating and revising, and using feedback to control budget results and improve future plans”(Yoder-Wise, 2012, p. 244). The nurse manager must be able to accommodate variances and acclimate the budget in both the projections and up-to-date expenditures. Proficiency in managing a unit level budget is essential for both a favorable variance and optimal patient outcomes. Budgeting entails reviewing revenues and expenses, staffing costs, supplies, and capital equipment costs (Contino, 2001). This case study examines personnel, overtime (OT), supplies, travel, equipment, and staff education and the manner in which management can address these factors.
The knowledge of and experience of and Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) can be of value when examining core competencies. This paper will discuss the nine core competencies stated by The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF). To gain a more complete understanding of how the core competencies integrate into practice an interview of an APRN was conducted. Additionally, an analysis of selected NONPF core competencies will be discussed and how they apply to the roles of the APRN. The paper will end with a conclusion of key points and benefits from interviewing an APRN.
Leadership at times can be a complex topic to delve into and may appear to be a simple and graspable concept for a certain few. Leadership skills are not simply acquired through position, seniority, pay scale, or the amount of titles an individual holds but is a characteristic acquired or is an innate trait for the fortunate few who possess it. Leadership can be misconstrued with management; a manager “manages” the daily operations of a company’s work while a leader envisions, influences, and empowers the individuals around them.
Nursing is a very complex career that at many times requires one to be a leader. Nurses can be leaders in formal roles and also on the unit during any given shift. Nursing is a career that truly tests the character and attributes of those who choose to enter this career. Leadership in nursing is vital in creating a successful environment for patients. According to Stichler (2006), “effective leadership is essential to transforming organizations into environments that are safe for both patients and staff” (p. 422). Therefore, it is vital that as new nurses start out his or her careers that they learn from great leaders who are already in the profession. There are several great leaders working in the field who have a plethora of