A nurse manager is interested in supporting more involvement of the staff nurses on the unit. What is one approach the nurse manager can take to facilitate this involvement?

Question

a. Inform the staff of decisions made.
b. Use decentralized management.
c. Avoid unit goals.
d. Discourage input from other personnel.

Answer 1

B
Decentralized management, in which decision making is made at the staff level, is very common within health care organizations. Advantages of decentralization include increased morale and improved interpersonal relationships among staff. Staff members feel more important and are more willing to contribute. The staff should be making the decisions, not being informed of decisions made. To make decentralized decision making work, managers need to move it down to the staff level. On a nursing unit it is important for all staff members (RNs, LPNs, and LVNs), nursing assistive personnel (NAP), and unit secretaries to feel involved, particularly with issues affecting their ability to care for patients. One of the responsibilities of a nurse manager is to help the staff establish annual goals for the unit. Avoiding unit goals will decrease involvement, not increase the participation.