Six months ago you were promoted to a nurse manager position on a surgical unit. The first six months have been rocky with short staff, high census, high acuity, and several critical incidents such as a medical error that led to a patient being transferred to ICU. You have been trying to learn more about your new role. The staff seems to be accepting of you, but a couple of nurses do not think you have enough experience. You have heard this through the grapevine. Two of these nurses are now up for their annual performance appraisals. The hospital uses competency-based performance appraisal. The following briefly describes the two nurses:
a. Jane has been working on the unit for eight years longer than you. She has experienced three nurse managers in this time period. She has a BSN. When there are staff issues, she is the first to lead the charge and can get very emotional. She has had three arguments with physicians in the past six months. This nurse has also been involved in four medication errors over the past eight months. This year her documentation meets required criteria.
b. Sue has worked on the unit for three years. She had an AD but just completed her BSN five months ago. Her behavior has changed in the past five months. She has not worked well with the certified nurse assistants (CNAs) and had an argument with a new nurse. She told this nurse, “You don’t know what you are doing.” The new nurse is ready to leave the job. Sue has never been an effective delegator, but no one has ever addressed this. She has no known errors, but her documentation does not consistently meet required criteria. You wonder if her attaining her BSN has made a difference—and not necessarily a positive difference.
You now have to prepare for both nurses’ performance appraisals.
1.
Describe what information you would need to prepare for the meetings—information described here and any additional information.
2.
What are the critical issues for each nurse that you think you should address during the performance appraisal meetings, and how will you address them?
3.
During the meeting with Jane, she says, “I have to tell you that I think you are not an effective nurse manager.” How would you respond to her?
4.
Sue tells you in the interview that since she got her BSN, she is better than the other nurses, particularly the three AD nurses on the unit. How would you respond to her?
5.
Describe the plan you would recommend to each nurse to improve in the next year. Include a timeline for review.
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