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head: NURSE MANAGER

Nurse Manager Interview

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Nurse Manager Interview

The skills that make a great nurse will only get you halfway to a managerial role. Just
because you have a flawless bedside manner does not mean that you will be able to lead
others to do the same. Nurse managers have to be able to lead, inspire and motivate other
employees to give the best care possible. Great nurse managers have that ability to
inspire and help others find their strengths and capitalize on them. They also plan, hire,
coordinate, direct, organize, evaluate, and budget. Managers also have good leadership
skills (Yoder-Wise, 2011). In this paper we interviewed a nursing manager to further our
understanding on the managerial position. From this interview we were able to analyze
and compare to various theories and current evidence-based practice.
We interviewed Jackie Biel, BSN, RN, NE-BC who is currently a nurse manager
at Tassell Cardiac Care Unit, Meijer Heart Center, which is part of Spectrum Health in
Grand Rapids, MI. She has been an RN for 23 years, obtained her BSN from Ferris State
University in 1992 and also completed her Masters degree there in 2004. Her area of
expertise is the cardiac unit. She is in charge of overseeing the Tassell Cardiac Care
Unit, which includes overseeing 115 staff members.
Job Descriptions and Duties
As a nurse manager Jackie is assumes 24-hour accountability for managing,
supervising, coordinating the operational and financial effectiveness as well as the
efficiency of the unit. She develops policies, procedures and processes in coordination
with other leaders to ensure the highest quality services are provided at all times to all
customers. She assures the presence of a supportive and healthy work environment that
promotes retention and embraces diversity. Her key responsibilities include; unit based

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goal setting, program development, fiscal management, resource allocation, following the
standards of care, policy and procedure development/interpretation, human resource
development, performance improvement and maintenance of interdisciplinary
collaborative relationships. Her main duties include; working to achieve organizational
goals pertaining to patient safety, fiscal responsibility, and staff satisfaction and
development. For Jackies current position she is required to report to the nursing
director and the VP of nursing. All staff within the nurse managers department report to
the nurse manager, specifically on Tassell Cardiac Care Unit, she has 115 staff that
reports directly to her.
Collaboration
Collaboration is key to operating any successful business entity. The goal of
collaboration is developing policies, addressing procedures and processes to ensure the
highest quality services are provided at all times to all customers. As a nurse manager
Jackie must collaborate with physicians, mid-level providers, pharmacy, physical
therapy, dietary, respiratory therapy, care management, social work, and leaders from
other units. The collaboration usually occurs when a concern or issue arises and the
collaboration is crucial to create a solution.
Legal and Ethics
As a nurse manager Jackie is responsible for making some tough calls. She just
recently was faced with making a decision regarding a legal and ethical situation. The
situation involved a staff member not wanting to answer a call light and care for a patient
because he was HIV positive. The issue was, is this HIPAA breach or was it
unprofessional conduct, or both. She was forced to decide the consequence of the

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behavior based on the severity of the situation. This was definitely a professional
conduct issue that was handled with the help the Human Resources department. The
staffs comment was discriminatory and Jackie did not want her patients to have the
perception that this is how patients are treated at her facility. It could have a huge impact
on the organization and thus the decision was made to terminate the employee.
Power and Influence
According to Yoder-Wise (2011), a good leader must be able to influence others
and demonstrate power. Jackie does a great job of this in her everyday role as
manager. This is what has made her such a good manger for so long and why her staff
appreciates her so much. She has been known to come in on days that her unit is full,
dressed in her blue scrubs, ready to take an assignment. This speaks volumes as to the
type of manager she is. It allows her to relate more with her staff and they more with
her. One thing she loves about her employees is that they will come to me for
anything. It may be to discuss a concern or to talk about life. Either way I love they
know they can talk to me (J.Biel, personal communication, January 22, 2015).
Decision Making and Problem Solving
Being able to make quick decisions is an essential quality for any manager and the
ability to problem solve quickly is equally important. Jackie has learned over the years
that important decisions are best made with the input from staff. This is a democratic
approach according to Yoder-Wise (2011). Whenever she can, she allows anyone who
wants to argue for or against a proposed change. Regardless of how Jackie feels about, if
the staff votes yes or if they vote no, she will do her best to grant their

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wish. Democratic leadership can result in respect and greater levels of trust among
staff (McBride & Snyder, 2011, para. 1).
Conflict Resolution
This is the part of Jackies job she does not enjoy but yet is a vital part of her role
as manager. Jackie has tried to avoid conflict through promotion of a happy work
environment. Positive working relations and having a positive atmosphere in the
workplace allows for less conflict according to Yoder-Wise (2011). However, she has
developed a method for dealing with conflict. She first determines who is involved, then
determines the issue, listens to each side of the story with another manager. She uses
another manager so their staff cannot say she was playing favorites. Once she has
listened to all sides, then her and the third party determine the best course of
action. According to Iglesias and Vallejo (2012), being able to manage conflict quickly
and appropriately allows for staff to be happier and more satisfied. This is a positive
outcome for the patients as well. Less conflict between staff has shown to increase
patient satisfaction.
Reflection
Jackie has many of the qualities and characteristics one would look for in a
leader. At her core, this is what she is. She communicates with her staff in a manner that
conveys authority and peer. She has earned the respect of her employees and will always
be on their side. Conflict is something Jackie deals with right away to keep moral
up. From this interview with Jackie I have seen what it means to be a good manager and
good leader and what someone in her position deals with on a daily basis.

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Reference

Iglesias, M. E. L., & de Bengoa Vallejo, R. B. (2012). Conflict resolution styles in the
nursing profession. Contemporary Nurse, 43(1), 73+. Retrieved from
http://go.galegroup.com.libcat.ferris.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA318628964
&v=2.1&u=lom_ferrissu&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=e87bfd823f4b93a95a7
be16144fa921f

McBride, K., & Snyder, E. (2011). Dimensions of nursing process: The leadership
cure. Advances in Neonatal Care : Official Journal of the National Association of
Neonatal Nurses, 11(4), 268-71.
Yoder-Wise, P. S. (2011). Leading and Managing in Nursing (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO:
Mosby Elsevier.