Being a nurse manager comes with a great set of roles, responsibilities and duties. Being the manager is the head of the nursing department of a clinic, hospital or health facility, as well as, all the nurses’ work under his supervision. The nurse manager works in big hospital, and has to manage and assign duties to all the nurses. It is a prestigious position for nurses and to become one requires a certain qualification.
A nurse manager’s important duty is generally overseeing the work of other junior nurses, and assigning them duties and responsibilities. Also, he ensures that all the work carried out is under and covered the rules and regulations of the hospital or any health facility for that matter. He is entitled to take disciplinary action if there are irregularities found in the working of the people under him.
In every hospital, there are various and different departments, depending on structure or organization. Given the situation, a nurse manager’s responsibility is to ensure that skilled and specialized nurses are properly filled and positioned to each department. It is his duty that all the new and old medical equipment are also maintained and that safety standards are properly observed. He is the one assigned to plan and manage the budget of the nursing department.
His job also requires him some creativity and resourcefulness for at times, he needs to devise ways to improve patient care functionality. He is definitely expected to interact and communicate with other heads of the different departments so he must know his work accordingly.
A nurse manager must be a highly skilled person, and the minimum educational requirement is a bachelor’s degree in science or fields concerning science. Even some hospitals demand a higher qualification like a post graduation. He then also needs to obtain a license by passing relevant exams. Starting as a registered nurse, and then with relevant experience, someone can move up the ladder to become a nurse manager.
With the prestige comes a good salary figures for a nurse manager. Of course, there are factors to consider in bargaining for the salary. Place of work and the experience play the part and are the two important factors that determine the average salary of a nurse manager.
For example, the salary in the United States is around $65,000, annually. But some of the prominent states such as New York and California offer salary figures above $80,000, annually. Thus, the salary you will earn is can be hugely affected by the state you work in.
Furthermore, you should also note that the bigger the hospital, the higher is the expected salary. But take note that most of the big and established hospital establishments require a work experience of above 5 years at the least.
Well, being a nurse manager is quite enticing but one should have what it takes to become one!
