The Nurse as Supervisor and Evaluator

The Nurse as Supervisor and Evaluator Chapter 7

The Role of the Supervisor • Directs the activities of others as related to a particular endeavor • Ensures that nursing care of a group of patients is • carried out: • Correctly • In a timely manner • Efficiently

The Role of the Supervisor (cont’d) • Oversees the activities of variously educated individuals • Staff nurse has responsibility but little authority • Unit managers and head nurses: • Maintain patient care standards • Hire • Formally evaluate • Fire

Planning and Organizing the Work of the Team • Coach • Aptitudes and skills • Set “ stretch goals” • Lead team meetings • LISTEN • Implement

Planning and Organizing the Work of the Team cont. • Mentor • Purposes • Guide to most productive behaviors • Help organize and set priorities • Introduction to key people • Be an advocate • Skills • Value

Question • Is the following statement true or false? The person serving as a coach to others must possess competent skills and be well liked.

Answer False. Rationale: the person serving as a coach to others must possess competent skills and be emotionally stable.

Evaluating Performance • Includes assuring that the individual being observed: • understands the standards and expectations • that the work is assigned and structured appropriately • that the work is observed • that performance is judged against the standards and expectations

Providing Feedback • May be formal or informal • Positive feedback is: • Frequent • Timely • Public • For all employees • Accurate • Sincere • Objective

Providing Feedback (cont’d) • Negative feedback • Timely • Frequent • Private • Objective • Accurate • Non-threatening • Suggest changes

Providing Feedback (cont’d) • Select right time and right place • Use appropriate communication techniques • Give specific suggestions for change and propose alternative approaches • Be helpful • Show that you care • Recognize improvement and encourage independence

When Errors Occur • Address both • The error • The reason for the error • Lack of knowledge • Carelessness • System problem • Human error • Plan for improvement-

Question • One of the suggestions for giving negative feedback is that it is frequent. What does this mean? A. You know when your staff is making a lot of mistakes and you need to do something about it. B. Look for negative things to give feedback on to all your staff. C. When given frequently, negative feedback is less threatening and easier to give. D. Always precede a positive comment with a negative one.

Answer C. When given frequently, negative feedback is less threatening and easier to give. Rationale: if feedback is provided frequently, it becomes less threatening to those receiving it and easier for those giving it.

Performance Appraisal • Standards for performance appraisal • Job descriptions • Policies and procedures • Standards of nursing practice • Standards of care

Performance Appraisal (cont’d) • Soft skills • Customer focus • Communication skills • Learning and continuous improvement • Team player • Interpersonal skills

Formal Performance Appraisal System • Can include self and peer • Purposes • To improve the functioning of the organization • To foster the personal development of the employee • To provide a basis for termination of an employee from a position • Characteristics • Well-developed evaluation process has the support of top administration • Identifypurposes of evaluation • The person doing it should be well trained

Formal Performance Appraisal System (cont’d) • Data collection • Accurate • Address the individual’s behavior • Job-specific • Representative of the person’s work • Should be written • Unbiased

Formal Performance Appraisal System (cont’d) • Common problems • Can be one of the weakest elements in the management process if not done correctly • Can be viewed negatively

Types of Performance Evaluation Tools • Narrative-strengths and weaknesses • Rating scales- most widely used • Checklist- yes, no or naot applicable • Goals and objectives- may not work in hospitals • Methods to decrease rater bias • Field review- several supervisors evaluate • Forced choice- best describes or least describes • Critical incident- time consuming and may record only negative

The Evaluation Interview • Planning • Mutually convenient time • Convenient, private location • Should not last longer than is necessary • Conducting • Socialize about work- related issues • Goals and objectives • Direct the tone of the interview

Potential Errors in Performance Evaluations • Failing to investigate facts before expressing opinions • Conducting a one-way conversation • Interrupting the employee’s thoughts, explanations, or questions • Criticizing the employee rather than the performance • Smoothing over real deficiencies and problems • Allowing the interview to deteriorate into a social visit

Progressive Discipline • Goal- • correct behavior • set stage for termination • Steps • Coaching- steps for improvement and time frame • Verbal warning- formal meeting and is documented • Written warning- job is at risk • Termination or suspension

Progressive Discipline (cont’d) • Critical elements • Prove that the alleged acts did, in fact, occur • Sufficiently serious to warrant disciplinary action • Common pitfalls • Lack of adequate documentation • The tendency to write a positive terminal evaluation for the employee who has performed unsatisfactorilyif they agree to resign

Question • One of the critical elements in disciplinary actions involves proving that the employee’s behaviors were serious enough to warrant being disciplined. How is that accomplished? A. The conduct that is being criticized must not have been ignored earlier. B. Leave notes in the employee mailbox telling them of expected improvements. C. Ask someone else to sit in on the disciplinary action. D. There must be a signed contract with the employee for improvement.

Answer A. The conduct that is being criticized must not have been ignored earlier. Rationale: this means that the conduct that is being criticized must not have been condoned earlier, ignored, or forgiven.

Problematic Responses to Evaluation • Crying • Anger and hostility • Providing excuses

Self-Evaluation • Critical component of professional practice • Be as objective about yourself as possible • Provide behavioral examples to support your self-evaluation • Recognize areas in which you are demonstrating very good or even excellent performance • Identify areas in which you seek to grow and improve

Peer Evaluation • Everyone must take the responsibility seriously and approach it the same way • Should have a standard format built around job descriptions • Should build trust between employees and focus on potential growth

Question • Is the following statement true or false? Peer evaluations can be especially important in areas where the supervisor has limited contact with the person being evaluated.

Answer True. Rationale: peer evaluations may be especially important when a supervisor has a very broad span of control and has limited contact with individuals to be evaluated, and, therefore, limited behavioral observations to support evaluation.

Responding to a Personal Evaluation • Positive performance appraisal • Accept compliments with dignity • Reinforces the action of the person providing you with feedback • Negative performance appraisal • Provides opportunity for verification, clarification, or expansion • Construct a self-improvement plan • Construct a plan for ongoing feedback

The Nurse as Supervisor and Evaluator