Saturday, February 25, 2006

My Boss

I have to say that I am very lucky, I have the best boss I could imagine. I have been a nurse almost seven years and have worked under many different nurse managers, some good and some bad; Vicky is bar far the best.

I was hired in December of 2004 by a different manager and I didn't know that my department was getting a new manager when I accepted the job. I got very lucky, not that the other manager wasn't good. Vicky started a gradual takeover of our department in January and was fully our manager in April. I liked her immediately. When my mother-in-law died at the end of June, she was so supportive, telling me to take all the time I needed. When I went into early labor and got put on bed rest, she again told me not to worry, but to take care of myself and do what I needed to do to have a healthy baby.

Yesterday evening I called her office at 8:00 PM to leave her a message so she could call me next week. She was still in her office and talked to me for twenty minutes even though she had been at work all day long. She is very encouraging to me in my career endeavors.

I wish every boss could be like mine, unfortunately too many people who get into management do so because they are not capable of doing the jobs of those they manage. Thankfully, Vicky is not like this, she is an awesome nurse. I am very lucky to have a boss that I both like and respect.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Now this is a topic that I could say WAY too much about!!!

You hit the nail on the head... People who are not capable of managing, should not be managers. It makes life pure HELL if you wind up being one of the poor souls that falls "under" their management.

But, How do you say, YOU SUCK AS A MANAGER...GET A CLUE... AND GET A NEW JOB! And, why is it that the manager's managers sometimes refuse to do anything about their inability, even though they recognize it?

Sorry.... BUT THIS IS A SUBJECT I COULD GO ON AND ON AND ON ABOUT!

Thomas J. said...

Hey. . .i was one of those rotten managers at one time. . .LOL

I think I could probably do better now, being a little older and all. . .

Actually, I have been blessed with a BUNCH of really great bosses. . .i think of Rodger, Joe, Lily, Carl, Obi, and many others who saw the potential in me in spite of my appearance or outward state of being "rough around the edges".

I will also say that alot of being a good manager is recognizing the strengths in people (and i think that is what makes my list of good experiences nice and healthy). . to be able to expect the good in people, to learn to delegate, and to trust the people under you while still recognizing any limitations they might have.

Kimberly said...

Oh, I understand about bad bosses. Though she was nice enough, the nurse manager at one of the St. Louis area hospitals was HORRIBLE. Of course, it may not have been all her fault, I think the entire structure was terrible, at least at that facility.

I was the night shift charge nurse and a "manager," at least of those nurses and nursing assistants who worked directly under me on my shift. My staff reported to me and I reported to her (which was the same with the day and evening staff and charge nurses.) However, the night shift charge nurse also had to take a full patient assingment, which the day and evening charge nurses did not. This made me a manager AND an equal, which NEVER WORKS! And to top it off, my manager never had my back when there were issues.

Well, as I said, I have a wonderful manager now. I am very grateful.

As for why the manager's manager lets them get away with incompetence, I am not sure, it may be the entire chain of command is need of overhaul.