Cheryl Boldt, RN, NHA

As a Director of Nursing, you may feel the day hits you in the face the minute you walk in the door! You might say, your day manages you rather than the other way around. It is possible to minimize chaos through proactive leadership. As the leader of many and role model to all, you are directly responsible for the clinical systems and communication processes necessary for great clinical and customer satisfaction outcomes. Learn how to become a savvy leader who develops and leverages the strengths of competent professionals.

We will review best practices in recruitment, selection, and retention of nursing staff as well as best practices in orientation and ongoing growth and development. How you recruit, hire, train, hold accountable, and empower those you lead, is directly related to their longevity in employment as well as achievement of your personal and organizational mission and goals.

It is possible to become a master at ‘Leading the Day’ and teach others to do the same! It is imperative to have an understanding of how leadership and management differ to this will be clarified during the session.

In this session, we will help Directors of Nursing develop a daily routine that drives accountability. In turn, the DNS can help Charge Nurses develop daily shift routines that help them see through the day and be able to leave work with a sense of accomplishment rather than disappointment. We will discuss and role play effective shift interchange and learn how to monitor the pace of work through methods such as team huddles through the day.

It is important for Directors of Nursing and the Nursing Staff to end the day with a sense of accomplishment and be able to return to work with an optimistic view on how the day will go! We will discuss how you can make proactive choices in this regard.

We often criticize the critical thinking abilities of our staff, yet we do not understand the role empowerment and accountability play in development of critical thinking skills for problem solving and decision making. If front line staff are involved in the development, implementation, and maintenance of key customer satisfaction and clinical systems, the systems will have a better opportunity to stay in place and those we serve will be happier with services provided.

Long Term Care professionals also find themselves at a loss on how to deal with conflict. Conflict Management techniques will be explored, inclusive of how we need to talk with people about the issues at hand. We will discuss conflict management techniques to be utilized with our internal and external customers.

Your effectiveness in the role of Director of Nursing directly impacts the quality of care and quality of Life of those very important individuals who call our facilities ‘home’.

This session is appropriate for Directors of Nursing Service, and any Long Term Care Professional who supports D.N.S. leadership growth and development.

Director of Nursing Program Outline