Have you been working “in the trenches” as a staff nurse for awhile and ready to consider a change? Are you looking for a position that’s both challenging, fulfilling and pays more than what you currently make?
While it’s true that many registered nurses are by the patient’s bedside giving
direct care, what’s less known is that registered nurses play a major role as administrators and supervisors within a health care setting.
After a few years of direct clinical experience, you may qualify to take on an administrative role. In general, the job description of a registered nurse administrator is to “supervise a handful or dozens of nurses within a department or facility”. Nurses can be an administrator in many settings including hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitative facilities or any other health care setting.
Supervision of nurses is the primary responsibility of a nurse administrator, but there are also more in-depth requirements and duties. The registered nurse will “administer the development of nursing service policies through planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, delegating, and evaluating activities of the nursing staff; participate in formulating agency policies, in devising procedures essential to the achievement of objectives, and in the developing and evaluating of programs and services”. To put it a simpler way, administrative nursing work is responsible for the overall management and direction of the nursing services at a major treatment facility.
There are sometimes basic nursing skills that are required of the registered nurse administrator, which can include:
• Mastery of basic life support
• Proficiency in use of medical equipment in facility
• Pharmacological comprehension
.
A registered nurse administrator should also be familiar with the hospital’s (or other facility) mission statement and philosophy.
A registered nurse administrator has many duties and responsibilities and spends a large portion of time in leadership and supervisory roles. Attending and evaluating various committee meetings such as research committees, utilization review and quality control committees among others is another primary duty of the administrator’s role.
In addition to the above responsibilities, other specific duties, areas of responsibility and knowledge of a registered nurse administrator are:
• Ability to plan a departmental budget
• Knowledge of professional nursing theory and practice.
• Familiarity with nursing service administration and practice.
Being a nurse administrator offers some of the best opportunities for career growth, advancement and salary that the nursing field offers. Salaries have continued to go up due to the shortage of qualified applicants. Depending on what part of the country you work in, salaries vary significantly and average between $53,000–$120,000!!
Are you ready to start making that kind of money? Let RN Bridge Program help get you there quicker and for less money than any other program.
