What does that mean for you when you read this statement? How are you able to do that in this climate of seasoned staff retiring or changing careers?

Managing and meeting Employer’s goals was much easier earlier in my career when I had Nurses who had longevity and experience in long term care. I may have needed to educate them on a new process or new policy. It was rare that I had to provide a 6 month training orientation program to teach them their roles. That was a program that was for the new graduate nurse who we were mentoring . The new graduates were excited to join the long term care community.

Today, in long term care, there are many staff positions that have been affected by nurses aging out of careers. The one role that has been hit the hardest is the role of the MDS Coordinator. It is the one role that usually may only have 1 or 2 nurses in that facility that can do this job. If that position is open then most likely the facility is using a regional lead or rover support which is also small in number. This is the biggest role that if open changes how I am able to support staff in that facility as this is the nursing role that I manage. Open positions in one building also effect how much I as a manager will be available to the remainder buildings that they oversee.

What does a day as a manager look like when you are that Regional team lead who tries to provide support for your centers. In the past it truley meant supporting your staff and monitoring that they completed assessments accurately. Today however due to open positions, it takes lots of juggling of schedules. It takes supporting the staff you have in place while completing tasks that need to get done at the center level. Today for instance, I juggled fixing billing questions, completing admission tasks, and answering questions for my newer staff who may not be quite sure of the rules of reimbursement. I also did my own expected tasks at the Regional level, which included several zoom calls with other regional members trying to improve processes as well as zoom calls with new employees providing 1:1 orientation. My day started at 6 and ended at 7pm. I don’t see this role getting any easier as most applicants do not have the experience as a reimbursement nurse.

So, at the end of the day I try to assess did I take care of those in my charge? How do I answer that question these days? I think that I am doing my best to support my team but I know that they are also dealing with staffing shortages as well. They also are assisting in training newer staff in processes as well. Staff at the center level don’t always know what a manager is doing when they are not doing a task for them directly. That is why it is so important to communicate with those you lead.

This month is the end of 2022 and I would like to finish it off by helping staff identify new opportunities and ideas of completing tasks with the resources we have. Empowering them to function in their roles as independent as possible. Continue to build on the strength that they have and enhance their knowledge base.

I will continue to be transparent in what I expect and if I make a bad decision I will communicate that and learn from it.

Together with my staff, I am hoping to work towards the shared vision of what our parent company is trying to achieve.

Dec 2022/Skilled NursingSupport/maria.messina@skillednursingsupport.com