Appreciated

A while ago my nurse manager came down to the department I was in to check on me.

My nurse manager came to check on me.

The day was turning into a hot mess and I had to get help from our sister nursing department to help get things back on track and help me put out the flames. After things started to calm down, my nurse manager came down to where I was to check on me and do you know what she said? “Fred, I am so glad I hired you.”

Say. What?

Did… Did she just show appreciation for how hard I was working?

HOLY HELL MANAGERS DO THAT?!?

Turns out, good management does. I cannot even count how many times either my nurse clinician or nurse manager has popped up in the department giving us updates or just checking in.

I have never really had that happen before. In fact, I was so unused to it that the first time my nurse clinician came down to the department checking in I thought I was in trouble! I really thought I had gotten reported for something and was about to be written up! That is how little I was used to seeing management (unless they were asking if we updated our whiteboards).

I was talking to another floor nurse, in fact, the one from the last blog, and telling her about management coming and checking in and she was also flabbergasted. She, too, was only used to seeing management whenever there was an issue.

That’s sad.

I don’t place 100% of the blame on management, though. I know they are encountering the same problem. Their higher-ups only want to discuss what they are doing wrong, give them unrealistic expectations, and unrealistic time-frames to complete the unrealistic expectations. Meeting after meeting they get bombarded with complaints. It’s a miserable existence and I can totally understand why so many nurse managers leave the job.

This is a bigger problem with how hospitals are a business focused more on numbers than patients. It trickles down. Miserable management creates miserable staff, and that leads to the high turnover rates in the nursing field.

No one feels appreciated and that needs to change.

I am lucky enough to work in a department where I actually feel appreciated. Yes, we have our foolishness just like every other area in the hospital. However, I find myself far less stressed in this position. I want more nurses to be able to feel this way. I want it to get to a point where seeing management becomes a positive thing. I wonder how we, as a group, can change this?

15 thoughts on “Appreciated

  1. This is wonderful and definitely needs to happen more often. If the hospitals weren’t so geared to profit I think we would be able to have better working systems with greater employer, employee, and patient satisfaction. Along with patients feeling valued, recoveries tend to be better… it is like a snowball running downhill. I wish this was more common place. Thank you for sharing.

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  2. Love this! You’re so right. Sometimes the smallest things that management do can really help the team spirit! I know of a matron who sits in an office all day and doesn’t even know her own staff names. That’s not the right way to do it, just my opinion. But if make sure I got to know all of my staff, gave praise and encouragement ❤️

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  3. Loved your post for a couple of reasons:
    1: you asked for help, a great nurse will always ask for help rather than drown.
    2: you reflected on the life of a nurse manager with out anger.

    It’s a tough job, I manage a 700 bed hospital after hours, I’m the only manager from 7-7.
    I agree in your thoughts about some people/ hospitals have lost their way regarding patients.
    I have just had 8 weeks off to recharge, I was turning into a machine.
    I love my staff, I make a point of getting to know them, that’s the beauty of nightshift and I always thank them. I would never ask a nurse to do something I would not be prepared to do and my nurses come first.
    I don’t manage a ward or a daily budget, or day to day runnings of a ward. I applaud nurse managers who do. It’s a tough job.
    Thank you for showing insight 😊

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  4. Everyone deserves praise for a job well done, and I’m glad to hear you’re being acknowledged. You seem to have a passion for nursing, and your patients. I hope, if I ever have to stay in the hospital, I have a nurse like you. 🙂

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  5. Appreciation for nurses can make a difference for how nurses treat patients. No one loses.

    How would you suggest vetting a floor manager to see in an interview how they appreciate their nurses?

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    1. If they give you that “do you have any questions” moment in your interview, ask them about it. Also, if they let you shadow with someone on the unit, ask them about it as well. Sometimes the nurses will be really honest with you.

      Liked by 1 person

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