Currently, a nurse manager is obligated to maintain a unit’s efficiency, safety, innovation, financial performance, and quality. The nursing profession places a great responsibility on leaders and managers to fulfill various duties to guarantee that patients’ requirements are met. The interview was held with Katrina James, a clinical nursing supervisor. This essay aims to examine a leader to understand her position and the influence they have on the company they work for and the patients they serve.
Katrina James, who oversees the Cardiac Step-down unit on 7C at the University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, was the leader I decided to speak with since she is the supervisor of nurses at the hospital. The Clinical Nursing position was recently filled by the unit where Katrina has been filling in the manager role while waiting for a replacement, helping to satisfy the demands of the team. Katrina has worked as a staff nurse at 7C and has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Additionally, before becoming a nurse, Katrina had worked in a public health position and as a nursing assistant, totaling almost 20 years of experience in a healthcare position. Katrina easily shifted to a supervisory job on 7C since she had experience doing so when working in a public health post.
According to Katrina, her job as a clinical nurse supervisor constantly evolves and relies on the requirements of the unit at any particular time. Katrina and the administrative assistant are tasked to finish the unit’s personnel and schedule as required by the organization. Additionally, she completes the daily tasks that are common assignments, such as those for the project managers and change nurses for each shift, as well as instructors and their designated mentees. When the unit needed more registered nurses or support workers, Katrina served on the bench as an interviewer to conduct interviews.
Consequently, should there be a need for disciplinary action, Katrina helped put into practice the specified clauses of the union contract and proposed remedial or disciplinary procedures. Additionally, Katrina serves as the unit’s point of contact when employee disputes need to be resolved, which a pivotal role to clinical nurse supervisor (Weaver et al., 2019). Katrina looks through patient complaints in addition to working with management to track down and pursue problem-solving. Staff injuries fall under the purview of her job description since she ensures that employees receive the proper counseling and care and are given the go-ahead to resume work once an injury has been addressed.
Within the chain of command, the floor nursing staff reports to Katrina directly, who in turn reports to the nursing manager of 7C and 7D, which is the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Step Down Unit and the Cardiovascular Intensive care unit. The clinical manager then reports to the Director of Patient Care Services for internal medicine and the cardiovascular center, who reports to the Chief of Nursing.
Katrina mentioned that the administrative assistant and the unit host are the staff with whom she works most frequently, although she added that it depends a lot on the demands of the moment. Katrina works with the nursing staff to ensure that the patient’s requirements are being addressed. According to Collins et al. (2020), as a nursing supervisor, her role includes addressing problems or concerns and, if required, mediating with other staff members. As a link between the staff and the medical team, she investigates lab issues when there are worries or misunderstandings and looks for methods to enhance results and communication.
Additionally, when problems require investigation, she collaborates with the billing division. She also collaborates with the unit-based board and serves on it to help create policies and procedures, look into and seek solutions for using overtime, assess the necessity of travel or procure nursing services to assist with resourcing when nurses are on absences or leave, and help control the budget to make sure there are enough hours per patient per day (Warshawsky et al., 2020,). Additionally, Katrina fosters communication for forthcoming meetings about the process and strives to create solutions to problems as they emerge.
The idea of fairness is one ethical dilemma that frequently arises in health care. According to Carpenter (2018), justice is the idea of treating everyone fairly and equitably. When adjustments or disciplinary intervention is necessary, Katrina works hard to ensure fairness is maintained among the workforce. She continues by saying that the workplace abides by an exact union contract created to establish fair and uniform procedures in various circumstances.
In order to create a productive workplace, Katrina promotes transparency and communication among the team. Fairness is one of the elements of ethical leadership. It entails being open and honest in recognizing and taking into account the opinions of others and aiding people in expressing their opinions on topics without fear of retaliation or other repercussions (Alzahrani, 2019). By fostering a good work atmosphere, staff members can collaborate more effectively and strive toward patient care objectives without worrying about being treated unfairly or favorably. Overall, this enhances the work ethic and retention of employees. Also, Katrina does performance reviews to assist staff in identifying areas for development and success. These elements contribute to the moral precept of beneficence.
Given that she is the nursing and support staff’s supervisor, Katrina has some power at work. She assists in finding answers to issues as they emerge and mediates disputes between employees. She adheres to the unit policies and the union contract to maintain an equitable and fair workplace. Still, she does not explicitly use her position or influence to induce fear or intimidation in the workforce. This contributes to preserving a pleasant workplace where employees get along well and with minimal disengagement (Saifman & Sherman, 2019). Additionally, it promotes competence and a feeling of order amongst employees.
Additionally, Katrina attempts to motivate workers to look for chances for progress and advance in the profession through continuing education. She also encourages employees to utilize the resources allotted to them for education. According to Nasiriani et al. (2020), these characteristics are forms of transformational leadership style, where leaders nurture those who look up to them by articulating a vision that gives them purpose and inspiration.
In conclusion, as a clinical nursing supervisor, Katrina contributes to creating a supportive workplace that promotes growth in a welcoming setting. Katrina’s leadership style promotes collaboration and individual professional growth. The only drawback I can think of is how much Katrina depends on set rules or procedures to influence her decision-making. Although she performs admirably within the confines of the union rules, she lacks the initiative to address issues without clearly defined processes. Instead, she depends on the command chain to guide her decision-making when the solutions are not immediately apparent. The interview further improved our comprehension of the wide range of variables a clinical supervisor may affect as they go about their everyday duties. I was unaware of the clinical supervisor’s extensive engagement in the large network of non-clinical and clinical workers needed to sustain the unit’s correct operation. The interview was instructive and gave my clinical nursing supervisor a better knowledge and optimistic outlook.
References
Alzahrani, S. (2019). Transformational leadership style on nursing job satisfaction amongst nurses in hospital settings: Findings from systematic review. Global Journal of Health Science, 11(6), 1-25.
Carpenter, M. (2018). The new managerialism and professionalism in nursing. In health and the division of labour (pp. 165-195). Routledge.
Collins, Emma, et al. “Applying Transformational Leadership in Nursing Practice.” Nursing Standard, vol. 35, no. 5, RCN Publishing Ltd., 2019, pp. 59–66.
Nasiriani, Khadijeh. “The Effect of Peer Instructor Teaching and Clinical Supervision on the Status and Stressors of Clinical Nursing Education.” The Journal of Medical Education and Development.
Saifman, H., & Sherman, R. O. (2019). The experience of being a millennial nurse manager. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 49(7/8), 366-371.
Warshawsky, N. E., Caramanica, L., & Cramer, E. (2020). Organizational support for nurse manager role transition and onboarding: strategies for success. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 50(5), 254-260.
Weaver, S. H., Hessels, A. J., Paliwal, M., & Wurmser, T. A. (2019). Administrative supervisors and nursing unit-based managers: collaboration and job satisfaction. Nursing Economic$, 37(2), 5- 11.