In any job in America, managers have a large level of responsibility and a great deal of stress. With nurse managers, this job is no less important. With the demand on the health care system at its highest level, this demand gets passed along to nurse managers, who are in charge of their staff, patients, and area of the clinic or hospital all at once. This can be an integral job and a necessary one, but it can also be burdensome. A recent study showed that a typical nurse manager can be in charge of 100 staff members or more. Combine that with dealing with higher ups in the hospital, angry or confused patients, and personal responsibility, and the job can seem pretty un-glamorous. Add on work hours of 14 to even 20 hour days or more, and you can see why the nurse manager is extremely important and has such a high impact on a clinic or hospital’s overall success.

Nurse managers need to have several things on their roster including a good solid educational background, many years of experience, and the ability to manage and work well with other people. The position of nurse manager now has much more potential for growth than it may have had in years past. Today, these nurse managers also serve as liaisons between a private practice or group of physicians and a large public hospital. He or she might also work on meeting with drug reps to help determine whether or not new medications will be added on to a hospital’s roster. In addition the nurse manager is there to help supervise staff and ensure that all patients are getting high quality treatment from the nurses there. It’s a highly demanding job that also reaps some great rewards with the satisfaction of knowing you’re helping people every day.