Running head: ANALYZING A LEADER OR MANAGER ROLE

Analyzing a Nurse in a Leader or Manager Role

Katie D. VanderVelde & Mollie J. Morrissey
Ferris State University

ANALYZING A LEADER OR MANAGER ROLE

Analyzing a Nurse in a Leader or Manager Role
Analyzing a nurse leader or manager role for future nursing practice is very important. As
stated in our syllabus, This assignment is to help nursing students discover the Healthcare
Village, because it takes the whole system to achieve good patient outcomes (Bishop, 2014, p.
11). Interviewing a manager or leader will help nursing students to have educational
background and expertise to be able to successfully accomplish the goals of being a nursing
leader and manager. More specifically, interviewing a charge nurse can be beneficial in meeting
leadership goals. Andrea graduated from Saint Mary's College in 2011 with her Bachelors of
Science in nursing. She started her career at Spectrum Health in November of 2011 as a
registered nurse on four west, which is a complex medical unit. She became a charge nurse in
October of 2013. She has her Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support
(ACLS) certification. Andrea is also working on her Medical Surgical certification, which she
needs for her current charge role.
Job Duties
Andreas had many job duties. She has to make sure staffing is appropriate for nurses,
nursing aids, and secretaries. This includes attending two staffing meetings per day with five
other medical units to make sure everyone has enough staff to safely take care of their patient
load. She makes staffing assignments at the times of 1500 and 1900, appoints new admissions to
nurses on the unit and is responsible for maintaining budget on the unit. In addition, Andrea
assists the nurses on the unit by starting new intravenous lines, completing profiles, helping with
dressing changes, passing medications and verifying drips & blood products. She is also
responsible for responding to critical problems on the unit. Andrea completes all discharge phone
calls by calling the patients that left the day before. She makes sure they have picked up their

ANALYZING A LEADER OR MANAGER ROLE

new prescriptions, made their follow up appointments, and has answered all their questions and
concerns. She responds to all patient and family concerns on the unit, as she stated puts out
fires. Andrea also counts the pyxis machine for all narcotics and checks the crash cart daily. She
communicates pertinent information to the house supervisor and nurse manager and looks up
policies and procedures to make sure her staff is following protocol.
As for Andreas main job duty, it is to supervise the unit and make sure her staff is
providing quality and safe care. She reports to the house supervisor and manager with all issues
that need to be addressed by a higher level of leadership. Her nursing staff reports to her with all
questions/concerns that they might have about patient care or protocols.
Collaboration Role
Andrea collaborates care with lab, pharmacy, case management, social work, physical
therapy, occupational therapy, maintenance, housekeeping, transport, doctors, physician
assistants, and nurse practitioners. They all work together to provide the patients with the best
care. Andrea also collaborates care with other charge nurses on different units when she has a
question about equipment or procedures that they do not use or do on a daily basis. For example,
four north is a orthopedic and trauma unit that deals with a lot of braces and splints, so if she
does not know how to apply a certain device she will call them for assistance. If she has a
question about a supra-pubic catheter, she calls seven norths charge nurse who works with a lot
of different urinary and gastric devices.
Legal or Ethical Issue
The nurse manager or charge nurse plays an important role in legal and ethical issues.
One legal and ethical issue that the charge nurse is responsible for is making sure an informed
consent is provided and completed before blood transfusions. Andrea stated that she is involved

ANALYZING A LEADER OR MANAGER ROLE

in the process of verifying drips and blood products. This is associated with making sure that an
informed consent is signed and understood by the patient. Staff nurses may approach the nurse
manager with questions about informed consents; thus the nurse manager becomes a consultant
for the staff nurse (Yoder-Wise, 2013, p. 79).
Power and Influence
As a nurse manager active engagement by nurse leaders is needed for a practice change
to occur. The majority of nurses preferred involvement in practice change based on clinical
problem solving when supported by nursing leaders and managers (Davidson & Brown, 2014,
p. 43). By this the nursing manager uses their power and influence to guide practice change. For
instance, Andrea attends multiple staff meetings during her shift and collaborates with other
medical surgical units in order to complete the process in practice change.
Decision-making and Problem-solving Process
Effective problem solving and decision making are predicated on an individuals ability
to think critically (Yoder-Wise, 2013, p. 99). Andrea has the responsibility to arrive on the unit
before staff does to delegate the patients equally to the nurses based on the census. This includes
making sure each nurse has a patient census that has similar health conditions. Similarly, critical
thinking is involved in this process of staffing, because Andrea needs to be aware of the patients
conditions and the nurses assignments.
Management and Resolution of Conflict
According to one article, to maintain interpersonal relationships, leaders should
accomplish a range of communication skills. They need to acquire the ability to understand the
needs of patients and families and to visualize their moods, feelings and thoughts (Lorber &
Savic, 2011). Andrea accomplished this resolution of conflict by making sure patients have

ANALYZING A LEADER OR MANAGER ROLE

picked up their new prescriptions, made their follow up appointments, and has answered all their
questions and concerns. She also responds to all patient and family concerns on the unit to avoid
conflict. Making sure these tasks are completed takes communication skills between patients,
families, pharmacies, and other healthcare facilities.
Conclusion
Interviewing Andrea about her job duties and collaboration with other health care staff
has shown the importance of responsibilities that a charge nurse has to accomplish. Realizing the
dedication and hard work that Andrea puts into her job displays a true leader. According to
Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, leaders need to be aware of the importance for safety, quality and
security will overrule the opportunity to be creative, resourceful and inventive in job change
(Yoder & Wise, 2013, p. 10). Andrea makes correct decision making, has power, resolves
conflict, and tries to make the correct legal and ethical decisions. She sets an example for her
nursing staff by giving her patients quality and safety of care and collaborating safety standards
to the health care team.

ANALYZING A LEADER OR MANAGER ROLE

References
Bishop, R. (2014). Nurs 440 leadership. [Syllabus], School of Nursing, Ferris State University,
Michigan, United States.
Davidson, J. E., & Brown, C. (2014). Evaluation of Nurse Engagement in Evidence-Based
Practice. AACN Advanced Critical Care, 25(1), 43-55.
doi:10.1097/NCI.0000000000000006
Lorber, M., & Savic, B. (2011). Communication and conflict resolution in nursing. Obzornik
Zdravstvene Nege, 45(4), 247-252.
Yoder-Wise, P. S. (2013). Leading and Managing in Nursing (5th ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences.