Charge Nurse Development Report

In the present healthcare atmosphere, nurses and other members of the healthcare team are being forced to do more with less, report feeling stressed, and in some instances are approaching burnout (White, 2012). Managers and clinical supervisors across the country report feeling frustrated not knowing how to support and reward employees for all the hard work they put in everyday (White, 2012). Unfortunately, there is a large void between management and employees’ insight of appreciation in the work setting (White, 2012). In a Gallup Poll recently conducted, 65% of workers reported receiving no recognition at work in the past 12 months (White, 2012). The result is decreased staff morale, which can be linked to unhealthy work environments resulting

This program is a ten-day course aimed to help clinical supervisors manage units more effectively (“Management training,” 2009). The course runs over a 16 week period and covers time management, managing stress, resolving conflicts, managing complaints and poor performance, and how to deal with difficult conversations (“Management training,” 2009). Clinical supervisors report feeling more empowered and their staff happier, which subsequently improves the unit experience for patients (“Management training,” 2009). Other advantages of the implementation of this program include improvement in the way the unit is run, an instilled since of confidence in clinical supervisors, and a decrease in clinical supervisor vacancy rates from 10 percent to 2 percent (“Management training,” 2009). Disadvantages to the implementation of this program include finding staff that are willing and capable to implement and teach the course, motivating clinical supervisors to take an active role and participate in the course on their day off, and finding personnel to cover the clinical supervisor’s shift to allow them to enroll in this ten-day course (“Management training,”

These open staff meetings are simple, but effective, allowing employees to talk about how their actions make them feel and the lessons they acquired that can be passed on to other staff members (Waters, 2012). Other advantages to these wisdom sessions are they can be easily adopted; anyone can set up these sessions (Waters, 2012). All one needs is an available room and someone to lead the session, no one owns these discussions and there is nothing to buy (Waters, 2012). An advanced primary nurse found the sessions to be uplifting and inspiring (Waters, 2012). A disadvantage to the implementation of these wisdom sessions is getting staff excited and willing to attend and participate in these meetings, especially on a daily basis. In addition, finding a time that works best for all employees while still keeping the unit staffed could prove to be challenging. Finally, a member from the staff has to be willing to step up and take initiative to be a leader of the session, often times employees shy away from more