Running head: NURSE MANAGER ANALYSIS

Nurse Manager Analysis

Lisa Porter
Ferris State University

NURSE MANAGER ANALYSIS

Nurse Manager Analysis

Introduction
Nurse managers and leaders play a pivotal role in the field of nursing. Whether in a
clinical or non-clinical role they have a big impact on nursing practice. Certain characteristics of
a manager can determine whether they will be effective and successful in their role. Lori Barnes
is the Senior Nurse Manager for the Family Birth Center at Munson Healthcare Cadillac
Hospital. She is a Registered Nurse (RN) with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN). She has
worked at the birth center for twenty-two years and has been in her current role for nine years.
The American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) describes five competencies a nurse
must have to be an executive leader including: communication & relationship management,
knowledge of health care environment, leadership, professionalism, and business skills and
principals, (2011). Lori will be analyzed as a leader based on those competencies.
Roles and Responsibilities
Lori obtained her formal education of her BSN through the University of Phoenix. She is
certified in fetal heart monitoring and scrub nursing through the Association of Womens Health,
Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS),
Basic Life Support (BLS), and Neonatal Resuscitation Protocol (NRP). Her role as Senior Nurse
Manager is to guide the staff in their practice at the Family Birth Center. Her responsibilities
include: hiring new staff, creating and enforcing department policies and procedures, ensuring
safe practice of all staff, scheduling, performing chart audits, representing the obstetrical
department for the hospital and medical board, cost management, handle complaints and
allegations, and developing educational programs for staff and the community.
Organizational Structure
Lori describes the organizational structure and philosophy from her perspective as very
well thought out. She described the chair of command and how it provides structure and
guidance. Lori is in charge of the department. All staff working there, including RN, unit clerk,

NURSE MANAGER ANALYSIS

nurses aid, housekeeping, pediatricians, and obstetricians report to her. She reports directly to
the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the hospital.
Communication
Communication is central to human interaction, (Casey & Wallis, 2011). Lori is very
competent in her communication and relationship-building skills. She is trustworthy, honest and
upfront with the staff, respectful, and clear in her communication. She involves the staff in
decision-making, manages conflict well, provides educational materials and experiences, and
maintains a collaborative environment between the different departments in the hospital. She
creates an honest, trusting, environment in which the nurses feel valued and are satisfied with
their job and have the confidence to go to her for assistance or advise frequently. She is used as
an additional resource to improve practice and safety for patients.
Healthcare Knowledge
Lori is very knowledgeable about the healthcare environment. She has many years of
experience in healthcare and is actively involved in maintaining an up to date environment. She
belongs to professional nursing organizations and stays current with evidence based practice and
new policies from the governing bodies. She performs internal audits to ensure compliance,
participates in review committees for hospital policies and learning from defects, and she
testifies as an expert for obstetrical court cases for the state of Michigan and Ohio, ensuring that
she stays current with the laws and standard of care for best practice. Having her knowledge and
expertise is a wonderful resource for the nurses and hospital in general. She keeps the
environment and practice current, enhancing patient safety and satisfaction.
Leadership
Lori is a leader and someone that her staff can look up to and go to for guidance, but
there are aspects of leadership that she could improve on. At times it is hard for her to recognize
her own personal bias or to understand the point of view of others that are different from her
own. Lori wants the nurses to function with autonomy and at times does not take the lead in a

NURSE MANAGER ANALYSIS

situation where her leadership skills would be beneficial. She knows her strengths well but finds
it difficult to accept her weaknesses and improve upon them. The lack of leadership provided by
the manager causes the staff to step up and the senior floor nurses will take the lead and become
a mentor to newer nurses in times of need. She does function as a leader outside of the clinical
setting and leads organizations and projects in the hospital, creating a stronger administrative
system.
Professionalism
The nurse manager is responsible for fostering and managing relationships with those
above themselves, their peers, and staff for whom they are accountable; maintaining the highest
level of professionalism; and managing resources, (Yoder-Wise, 2015, p.54). Lori is
professional in her role and expects her staff to be professional as well. She is a good role model
and holds herself and others accountable for their actions. She encourages membership in a
professional nursing organization and hosts a journal review club for members to get together
and talk about changes in their professional organization, and review evidence based practice.
She advocates for the staff and patients to ensure that staff receives the benefits and
compensation that they are entitled to, all the tools required to provide safe and effective patient
care are available, and corners are not cut on quality to reduce cost. Her professionalism forces
the staff to hold themselves to a higher standard and ensures that the environment is professional.
The nurses feel more comfortable in a safe environment and take pride in their hard work and the
patients are more confident that the hospital and staff have the knowledge and skills to properly
care for them.
Business Skills
Loris business skills are something that she is trying to improve. She understands the
importance of possessing these skills and that the foundation of financial and business planning
must be sound in order for her department to succeed, but it is not part of her job that she enjoys.

NURSE MANAGER ANALYSIS

She would like to be able to simply provide a high quality of care to the patients and not have to
worry about costs. She is not entirely invested in the business side of her job which can create
tension for the hospital when they are trying to find ways to cut costs and Lori refuses to try new
methods or products that might jeopardize the quality of care that can be provided to the patients.
She gets upset when a new product is introduced that is of poor quality and does everything in
her power to take corrective action. Those actions let her staff know that she is fighting for them
and she really does care about them and their nursing practice. She strives to create a
comfortable, safe, healing environment for the patients.
Conclusion
Nursing leadership/management is as much a specialty as any other clinical nursing
specialty. As such, it requires proficiency and competent practice specific to the executive role,
(AONE, 2011). Lori is overall a competent manager who promotes an enjoyable work
environment for her staff and creates an environment of safety for her patients. She has some
areas that can be improved upon, and she is aware of those. Her competence in nurse
management and determination to high quality nursing warrants the respect of her staff and the
patients they serve.

NURSE MANAGER ANALYSIS

Reference
American Organization of Nurse Executives. (2011) The AONE nurse executive competencies.
Retrieved from http://www.aone.org/resources/leadership%20tools/nursecomp.shtml
Casey, A., & Wallis, A. (2011). Effective communication: Principal of nursing practice. Nursing
Standard, 25(32). Retrieved from http://0go.galegroup.com.libcat.ferris.edu/ps/i.do?
id=GALE
%7CA255086022&v=2.1&u=lom_ferrissu&it=r&p=ITOF&sw=w&asid=cc23160440f8b
c4055f013debcb7986b
Yoder-Wise, P. (2015). Leading and managing in nursing. St. Louis, MO: Elsever Mosby.