All Entries Tagged With: "nurse leadership"
New nursing programs geared towards preparing and retaining nurses
Studies show that up to 60% of new nurse graduates leave their first job within their first year, and many hospitals are focusing on ways to help new nurses through the difficult transition from nursing school to novice nurse to competent, confident practitioner.
Rapid City (SD) Regional Hospital is one such facility looking to help its new grads succeed and remain with the organization. The hospital hires an average of 100 nurse graduates every year, but within two years, 25% of those nurses are no longer with the facility. With the help of a recent grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Regional Hospital has launched a two-part program to provide guidance to the new nurses. [more]
Improve nurse satisfaction in a time of uncertainty
Improving nursing satisfaction is tough in bad economic times, when many hospitals are experiencing census dips and cost cutbacks that are forcing reductions in work force, benefits, hours, and pay. But the state of the economy doesn’t need to bring your nursing satisfaction scores down—there are ways to boost morale immediately.
For example, you can:
- Begin nursing staff meetings by asking, “What was the best thing that happened to you today or during your last shift?” The meetings should focus on improving care and team-building.
- Focus on improving the image of nursing by gathering a group of nurses to volunteer with a community or organization project.
- Ask creative nurses to develop banners or posters that showcase nursing excellence and hang them around the unit or facility.
- Thank nurses for their fortunate choice of profession. In Gallup’s annual honesty and ethics professional survey, nursing has been rated No. 1 for the past seven years.
- Ask a nurse to create helpful hints on how to deal with stress and print them in your nursing or hospital newsletter.
- Ask the CNO to visit each nursing unit to listen and discuss why he or she is encouraged and hopeful about the future. Now is the time for leadership to paint an accurate but hopeful picture for nurses.
- Keep up the budget-friendly celebrations and recognitions for staff nurses. You can celebrate by handing out coffee coupons or recognizing a staff nurse during every unit meeting for his or her excellent patient care.
Schwarzenegger replaces most of California’s State Nursing Board
On Monday, July 13, Californian Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger replaced most of the members of the state’s Board of Registered Nursing after reports of potentially dangerous nurses continuing to work even after being accused of egregious misconduct.
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Correlating study tips with learning styles
It can be helpful for adult learners to identify their own learning style so they can determine study strategies that work best for them. The main types of learning styles are:
• Right brain
• Left brain
• Auditory
• Visual
• Tactile
What kind of learner are you? Visit www.StrategiesForNurseManagers.com to download a free tool to assess your auditory, visual, and tactile learning preferences. You can also use this tool to assess others’ learning styles as well.
Time management tips for beating stress
Everything comes down to time management. You have to make sure there is enough time for your job, your significant other, your family, your friends, taking the kids to soccer practice and ballet lessons, the dog has to go to the vet, and somewhere in between all of that you are supposed to breathe and have time for yourself. In all this commotion, it can be hard to remain calm and stress free, especially for busy nurse managers struggling to keep track of other staff members and daily tasks. Exhausting!
Here are some helpful tips to remember while trying to manage your time and remain stress free:
Dealing with verbal abuse
It’s inevitable that some of your decisions will be unpopular. However, you are not a manager to win a popularity contest. If you made the decision with thought and consideration and not as a reaction to an event, it should be understood and accepted in time. If you make staff understand the rationale behind and unpopular decision (or any decision, for that matter), they will be more likely to keep rowing in the same direction as you are. [more]
Shape relationships by showing off your personal side
Most interpersonal relationships in organizations are position-to-position relationships, rather than person-to-person relationships. In many organizations, managers speak in the role as the “boss” and they are treated as such. Their titles are splashed on their doors, desks, and business cards, all referring to their power position. The meaning behind this is “I want you to respect my position, regardless of who I am as a person.” [more]
Lead the charge for change and innovation
As leaders in healthcare organizations, it is often a nurse manager’s responsibility to be a driver of change. And while effective leaders work hard to help release creative energy within their facilities, staff must understand what is valued in order to support this. [more]
Improve nursing culture amid an economic crisis
by Denise Danna, DNS, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE
There are no quick fixes for cutting costs within a facility. System issues and problems often exist that, if resolved, could improve the overall budget. These system improvements take a great deal of time to implement for successful change, however there are some key points for developing a culture of accountability and engaging staff when facing economic perils: [more]
Budgeting for orientation, education, and training
Do you get a little stressed out when it comes time to budget for orientation, education, and training? You might find it helpful running through these questions beforehand:
1. How many orientees does the hospital expect this year?
2. How long is orientation for experienced hires? For new graduates?
3. How many education days does the hospital provide for each staff member?
4. How many mandatory classes does the hospital require each employee take?
5. How many outside training classes does the hospital pay for per employee each year?
6. Does your hospital pay for staff meeting attendance for days the employee is out?
How do you plan your budgets?
