As a nurse manager, I am constantly wondering if we provide our nurses with the most empowering environment possible in which they can grow and thrive. We all want nurses to feel empowered, but are we doing enough?
Start from the beginning
When a new nurse joins our home health agency, we do our best to demonstrate a workplace culture that mindfully provides a positive and open atmosphere. This involves open communication, the honoring of everyone's opinion, and a true desire for symbiotic connection among the staff.
A nurse who joins our work family is spoken to with respect, with his or her individuality honored and appreciated. If we've hired well, this new nurse is a good "fit" for the agency, and it almost immediately feels like he/she always had a seat at the table.
New nurses need to feel welcomed and appreciated for their choice of working for us, and we want them to settle into the agency with a sigh of recognition that they've chosen the right professional home.
Keeping tabs and checking in
Once nurses have been oriented into a new position, it's easy to think they're no longer in need of support, but this could not be further from the truth. A nurse who has recently come on board needs to be checked on regularly, and the nurse manager should be keeping tabs on many aspects of his adjustment to this new position.
When a nurse becomes a member of a team, that nurse may feel out of place, like she doesn't belong, and like her opinion doesn't really matter since she's only briefly been with the company. But in our agency, no matter how long a nurse has been with us, that nurse has a voice, and there is space at every meeting for each team member to check in, both personally and professionally.
We keep tabs on our nurses. We know how they're doing in school and at work, and we ask about their children and spouses. When a birthday comes along, we celebrate it. When there's a loss or a stressor, we offer support.
Knowing what your nurses are all about is an astute nurse manager's job, and it should be a major priority.
Know when to lean in
If a nurse on the team is experiencing stress due to multiple life obligations, it's worth a conversation. That nurse's work may seem to be faltering, or perhaps his documentation has declined in quality.
Before simply writing that nurse up for poor documentation, the prudent nurse manager will sit down with the nurse, probe for signs of stress and burnout, and offer options with the goal of helping that nurse to succeed. A little compassion goes a long way, and a nurse who feels heard and seen is a nurse who will go the extra mile for a manager who expresses authentic caring and concern.
Knowing when to lean in is part of the savvy nurse manager's extrasensory perception.
A finger on the pulse
To empower our nurses to be their best, we nurse managers need to keep our finger on the pulse of the team. Of course, we want timely and accurate documentation and perfect attendance for shifts and meetings, but we must remember that our nurses are human beings, and productivity is only one measure of a nurse's worth.
The thoughtful manager keeps a finger on the pulse of the team, truly listens to the team members, and also listens and watches for what has not been said.
The team has a palpable pulse of productivity and outward appearance, but there are also more subtle pulses that the manager can monitor. Morale, camaraderie, empowerment, autonomy, cohesiveness, contentment — these are also important, and the nurse manager ignores them at her peril.
Empowering nurses to be their best is a subtle but satisfying occupation. The smart nurse manager does so with savvy, authenticity and compassion.
