Tips for New Nurses: Effective delegation starts with understanding this

One of the biggest struggles new nurses face is learning how to effectively delegate to nursing assistants. Let’s say you’re 23 years old and get your first job on a busy cardiac unit. You quickly learn that the most of the nursing assistants are much, much older and have been there for centuries! When you meet them, they give you a look – a look that says, “We’ve been here for 30 years and we’re not about to let a young whippersnapper like you tell US what to do!” Seriously, I spend most of my time helping individual nurses and organizations eliminate nurse-to-nurse bullying but sometimes it’s not the nurses – it’s the nursing assistants!!! Many nursing assistants try to intimidate the new nurses on purpose so that they will be less likely to delegate to them.

However, the only way you can successfully provide high quality, safe and effective patient care is to learn how to work WITH nursing assistants (and others) and delegate.

3 important ways to grow new nurse wisdom

One year ago I made the decision to go back into clinical practice. I made this decision for 2 reasons: First, I still teach seminars with clinical topics (certification review courses, medsurg topics, etc.). It’s a credibility thing – I can’t teach about clinical topics if I’m not still practicing clinically!  Second, for me to be an effective keynote speaker and help nurses succeed, I need to know what they are going through.

Going back to the bedside after being away for such a long time (8 years) was the hardest thing I’ve ever done but it was the best decision I’ve ever made. Not only does this experience give me great stories to share while I teach, it gives me great insight and understanding to the challenges current and future nurses face.

This knowledge helps me to help you!

Congratulations Nursing Graduates! Your public is waiting for you

Congratulations! You’ve just completed the 1^st leg of your journey to becoming a competent and compassionate nurse. Getting through nursing school is a HUGE accomplishment!!! Congrats...you've earned the right to call yourself NURSE. However, with this title comes expectations with regards to competence and compassion.