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Role of the nurse manager in the provision of quality nursing services
Role of nursing manager
Role of nursing manager
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A nurse manager plays an important role on a hospital unit. Evans defines the role of a nurse manager as one who makes sure all the needs required on a daily basis are accomplished (Evans, 2011). Evans goes on to say that one primary responsibility of a nurse manager acting in the position of a leader is to “raise the level of expectation and help employees reach their highest level of potential excellence” (Evans, 2011). With this said, it is important to identify potential barriers and problems that a nurse manager would face on a given unit and create or adopt evidence-based interventions to eliminate these problems. When this is accomplished, it will help to foster a work environment that maintains safety to patients as well as staff.
One potential barrier that affects nurses is musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) such as lower back or shoulder pain related to unsafe patient handling and lifting. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2010, nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants had a 7% increase in the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders while ranking second overall in categories of employees with injuries requiring days away from work and total percent of musculoskeletal disorders (2011). Registered nurses ranked fifth in these same categories (2011).
Following the QSEN model, this problem is a concern that falls under the safety category. The Institute of Medicine defines safety as, “minimizes risk of harm to patients and providers through both system effectiveness and individual performance” (IOM, 2003). A nurse manager must address this problem because without nurses who are able to work, patients cannot be taken care of in a safe and effective way. As a nurse manager, it would be ...
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QSEN Institute. (2014). Competencies. Retrieved from http://qsen.org/competencies/
Theis, J.L., & Finkelstein, M.J. (2013). Long-Term Effects of Safe Patient Handling Program on Staff Injuries. Rehabilitation Nursing, 39, 26-35. DOI:10.1002/rnj.108
US Department of Labor, (2009). Guidelines for nursing homes: Ergonomics for the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders (OSHA 3182-3R 2009). Retrieved from website: https://www.osha.gov/ergonomics/guidelines/nursinghome/final_nh_guidelines.pdf
U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2011). Nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2011/ted_20111117.htm
Welch, R. (2011). Making Decisions and Solving Problems. In P.S. Yoder-Wise (Ed.), Leading and Managing in Nursing (98-115). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
Another research made 11 years after the prior research, shows that nearly 60% of all nurses and nursing assistants still suffer injuries in health care environment(“Nurses, assistants most injury prone in healthcare: CDC”, 2015). So what is the solution for this problem that affects more than 100,000 nurses and nursing assistants? Lifting patients is one of the main causes of injuries in the nursing homes. Over all injuries, 17% of them correspond to back injuries. But the use of lift machines itself doesn’t solve the problem. The prior research shows that 60.6% of the CNAs use lift machines, and those that don’t use it complain about the lack of time to do it. Therefore, the facility should decrease the ratio CNA to patient, in order to increase the time that the nursing assistants can spend on each resident. Also, a non-lift policy would prevent the CNAs from trying to lift patients in a quicker way that could potentially harm
Painter, L. M., & Dudjak, L. A. (2010). Actions, Behaviors, and Characteristics of RNs Involved in Compensable Injury. Journal of Nursing Administration, 40(12), 534-539. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0b013e3181fc19eb
The role of a Registered Nurse cannot be neglected in the provision of quality and safe care to patients and adopt procedures adequate for the condition of the patients because they work at the front line level; moreover, they have direct dealing with patients and integration of personal and professional skills is necessary. Therefore, there are certain attributes that are necessary to be present in a Registered Nurse for accurately performing various tasks. These include; Workload management, leadership qualities, interpersonal skills, control of practice, professional development, effective communication skills and organi zational loyalty (Daly & Carnwell 2003, pp. 158-167). These attributes hold significance in terms of obtaining positive outcome for not only the Registered Nurse but also the organization and the patient. Workload should be managed in such a way that the care process is not affected. Registered Nurse should have leadership qualities to help, motivate and inspire other nurses. Similarly, a Registered nurse should also enable and promote learning opportunities for other nurses. A Registered Nurse has responsibilities towards the subordinates, patients and most importantly to the organization. Effective communication skills can allow Registered nurses to establish a trusting relationship with patients identifying their problems and needs. The code of ethics and principles of practice must be followed and the practice of the nurse should be in the line of the organization’s working principles. The responsibility should be met as accountability factors must be considered significant in healthcare setting (Cornenwett, et al, 2007, pp.122-131; Bradshaw et al 2012, pp.13-14). ...
Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2012). Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing: Theory and Application. (7th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
Modern nursing requires more than clinical knowledge and skills. Nursing today requires registered nurses, even graduate nurses, to possess management skills. Registered nurses must develop effective communication skills, understand how to manage conflicts, develop team building skills and know how to delegate properly. Most of today’s nursing education programs include a management class in the curriculum to better prepare students for their first nursing job. Nurse managers have the responsibility to be a role model for staff. Storch, Makaroff, Pauly and Newton (2013) remind us that formal nurse leaders should provide
Some aspects of the nurse’s job have been made easy and facilitated with the aid of other well trained professionals within their working environments. According to the American Nurses Association (ANA) (2012), registered nurse’s performance has greatly improved over the years as a result of their coordination and partnership with the health care system with other health care providers. As a result, registered nurses are today seen to occupy important leadership positions in the healthcare system and they participate when they are making decisions for patients as well as for other
Patient’s safety will be compromised because increase of patient to nurse ratio will lead to mistakes in delivering quality care. In 2007, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) conducted a metanalysis and found that “shortage of registered nurses, in combination with increased workload, poses a potential threat to the quality of care… increases in registered nurse staffing was associated with a reduction in hospital-related mortality and failure to rescue as well as reduced length of stay.” Intense workload, stress, and dissatisfaction in one’s profession can lead to health problems. Researchers found that maintaining and improving a healthy work environment will facilitate safety, quality healthcare and promote a desirable professional avenue.
Thousands of nurses throughout the nation are exhausted and overwhelmed due to their heavy workload. The administrators do not staff the units properly; therefore, they give each nurse more patients to care for to compensate for the lack of staff. There are several reasons to why
The major concern for registered nurses regard’s the nurse’s health and well being. Safe staffing levels are continuing to become more of a problem. The U.S is expected to experience a shortage of nurses as the “Baby Boomers” age and the need for health care grows (Rossester, 2014). This shortage is causing some health organizations to work with minimal amounts of nurses. This is affecting the nurse’s ability to provide safe care due to fatigue and injury. This shortage is also resulting in a dramatic increase in the amount of mandatory overtime, which often means that nurses stray from face-to-face patient care and can produce an increase in the amount of medical errors (American Nurses Association,
Organizational Assessment: The lack of skill and knowledge of caregivers in operating the hoist to move patients increases the number of patient-handling injuries. Implementation of the hoist training program for new staff will lessen the cases of injuries related to patient handling as well as the absence amongst staff (Thomas et al, 2012).
Patient falls is one of the commonest events within the healthcare facilities that affect the safety of the patients. Preventing falls among patients requires various methods. Recognition, evaluation, and preventing of patient falls are great challenges for healthcare workers in providing a safe environment in any healthcare setting. Hospitals have come together to understand the contributing factors of falls, and to decrease their occurrence and resulting injuries or death. Risk of falls among patients is considered as a safety indicator in healthcare institutions due to this. Falls and related injuries have consistently been associated with the quality of nursing care and are included as a nursing-quality indicator monitored by the American Nurses Association, National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators and by the National Quality Forum. (NCBI)
Kerfoot, K. (2008). Bossing or serving?: how leaders execute effectively. MEDSURG nursing, 17(2), 133-134. Retrieved from EBSCO host
Effective leadership has a great impact in what direction the team takes. They have great communication skills and are very easy to talk to and approach. Employees look up to the nurse leader for reassurance and comfort when things are not so bright. Leaders are very compassionate and caring individuals. They are not afraid to take risk in order to reach their goals. Nurse leaders will go the extra mile for his or staff and patients. From a leader standpoint, providing quality care to every patient is a priority. Leaders are usually on the floor with the nurses and are very aware of the work load. Leaders can better understand the nurse’s frustration about the staffing ratio. Sometimes having four patients feels like six because of the acuity level. When faced with a situation like not having enough staff to work a shift, leaders are quick to call in an extra nurse to come and work. Reducing the work load and proving effective quality care to the patients is what a leader usually has in mind. Leaders are not thinking about the hospital budget and deficits. They look at the big picture which is staff shortage and the work that needs to get done. The leaders goal is to keep everyone safe and happy. According to Stanley (2006), leaders tend to be solitary, proactive, intuitive, emphatic and attracted to situations of high risk; they ask the 'why not ' question and 'do the right thing. Therefore, a leader will do everything he or she can to accommodate patients and nurses
Rogers et al (2013) also state a key factor in nursing workplace injures is that around the age of 40 nurses begin to lose strength and mobility making it more difficult to handle patients physically. There are also several negative outcomes that occur because of workplace injuries in nurses. For example, 12% of nurses leave the profession annually secondary to occupational back injuries, cost total around $7.4 billion annually and the average workdays lost for RN’s with musculoskeletal injuries is 5 days per episode (Rogers et al.,
The nursing profession is constantly in a state of change becoming more complex over time. Registered nurses work to prevent disease, promote health and help patients cope. They develop and manage nursing care plans, instruct proper outpatient care, and help improve and maintain health within their community. They are educators of health governed by state laws. Registered nurses can work in many different settings which determine their daily job duties. Depending on their level of training a RN could work with geriatrics, in intensive care units, as an educator, as clinical study observers, a midwife, oncology, or palliative care. Hospital nurses make up the majority of the RN group. They work as staff nurses who carryout medical regimens and provide bedside care. Most registered nurses work in well-lighted comfortable facilities, work nights, weekends, and holidays, and spend a considerable amount of time on their feet. They have to be available at a moment’s notice. Nursing also has its hazards all employees of care facilities are at risk for infectious disease, radiation poisoning, back injuries, shocks from electrical equipment, and hazards posed by compressed gas. Nurses are the link between doctors and patients.