Nurse jobs

Bruce Matthews lifted and fed patients as anroulette. If a patient's blood volume dropped,
orderly, and completed stints on as manyMatthews had to decide which of three methods
specialty floors as he could as a beginning nurse.to use to increase it.
He made life-or-death decisions monitoring surgery"If you make a wrong judgment, it could be
patients during grueling 12-hour shifts as andeadly, " Matthews said. But he thrived because
open-heart recovery nurse.he liked thinking through a process on his feet.
Now, as director in charge of nursingMatthews then completed a stint in the cardiac
administrative support at a hospital in Wintercatheter lab, a decidedly less thrilling job. On a lark,
Haven, Florida, Matthews benefits from the rarehe applied for a critical care supervisor's job at
privilege of having an insider's edge on the job.the same hospital where he got his start.
Main CourseHe got the job, moving from patient care to
In a way, Matthews' job represents the flip sidemanagement, overseeing nearly 80 beds and
of his previous nursing positions. Instead of seeingsubbing during the 3-11 p.m. shift when the nursing
patients, he assesses how many nurses arestaff ran thin. He learned the financial ropes by
needed on a particular floor. He converts staffingtapping good mentors and reading on his own. His
provided by registered nurses (RNs), licensedpride shines even now as he describes how he
practical nurses (LPNs) and certified nursingpersuaded higher-ups to include "flex pay'' in the
assistants (CNAs) into numbers or full-timebudget, which covered recruiting incentives for
equivalents (FTEs).nurses during a shortage.
"I'm kind of like a budget analyst, " said Matthews,Bigger, Better Rewards
43.After completing Army reserve duty during
Not Just the Job DescriptionOperation Desert Shield in the early 1990s,
But his job is more than a numbers game, sinceMatthews took on a bigger assignment: managing
nurses have different competencies, and needsnursing support services for the entire hospital
vary from floor to floor. Matthews, who reportsand affiliated facilities.
to the vice president of nursing and the hospital'sThe duties were similar to his previous job. There
CEO, accounts for that when he assigns staff. Hewas just more of everything -- more nurses,
must defend those decisions to higher-ups who'vemore beds (in excess of 500), more money to
never walked in a nurse's shoes. It gets moreaccount for. He still works long hours, and when
complicated, since Matthews continually evaluatesthe Joint Commission on Accreditation of
how effectively nurses perform against his ownHealthcare Organization makes its rounds, perhaps
and conventionally accepted standards.he feels a tad more pressure than usual.
Besides assigned duties, Matthews pitches in onMatthews considers himself a staff nurse "
other projects. For instance, he helped the hospitaladvocate " but acknowledges that he walks a
convert to a new computer system that made ittightrope sometimes to keep the clinical and
easier for nurses to order tests and supplies.administrative sides of the business happy. He
Getting Theredoesn't always succeed.
This orderly-turned-administrator advanced his"I like to be able to say, 'Yes, I can,' " Matthews
career by knowing what makes himself tick,said. He hit it off in health care because he
excelling on the job and seizing opportunities thatenjoyed helping people. That remains the core of
taught him something new. By the time Matthewswhat he does today.
finished military service, working as an Air ForceAdvice for Aspiring Health Care Workers
medic with an open-heart specialist, he knewFor nurses interested in moving into management,
enough to breeze through an associate's levelMatthews offers his advice:
nursing program. He earned his license and startedDon't pigeonhole yourself: Get as much experience
working as a nurse in a Winter Haven, Florida,as you can in every part of healthcare; that will
hospital, rotating through different floorsmake you more marketable.
voluntarily.Become familiar with tools of the trade: Even
Life or Deathbefore he completed a bachelor's degree,
Later at Lakeland Regional, Matthews achievedMatthews oiled his skills in math, including basic
the best of both worlds as an open-heartalgebra. Read journals that cover the job you
recovery nurse. Following a surgeon's protocols,want.
Matthews spent 12 hours monitoring patientsKnow what you know well: Matthews said his
hooked up to complex machines. As he describesinsider's edge in nursing helped him to articulate
it, the job was about as intense as Russianneeds to higher-ups.