Miserable Meetings No More!
3 Strategies to Make Meetings More Productive

Have you ever been to a meeting where all everyone else does is complain and point fingers? If you have, you know what a huge waste of time and energy these meetings are.

So, is there anything you can do to make these meetings more productive? In a word—yes!

Below are three steps to follow when you're stuck in a gripe and groan session:

1. Break up the blame game. When you see your chance, place yourself into the discussion. Start out by agreeing with some point that has been made, and then lead the conversation in a direction that is forward thinking (i.e., “You're right, Sue, that approach hasn't worked in the past. I think we should handle difficult patients in a different way”).
2. Lead the charge. Once you have the group's attention, do some brainstorming to get the ideas flowing. Make sure you write down what's being said.
3. Set action items. Before the meeting ends, create a to-do list that can be matched with people willing to take on the tasks the new ideas will require.

Many people believe that if they're not the ones who originally called the meeting, they don't have to take responsibility or do anything when it takes a nose dive. Don't fall into this mindset. Assume a leadership role, follow these steps, and get everyone back into gear.

Spotlight On:
Nurse Executives

In the past, nurse executives were usually the ones who had worked on the unit for the longest amount of time, and therefore, were usually the oldest. However, when it comes to being a nurse executive in today's world of healthcare, the number of candles on your birthday cake has little to do with the title you hold. Indeed, more and more nurses are proving that age has little to do with gaining a management role.


Want to be a Nurse Executive?

Want to be a nurse executive? Good for you! Just know that you'll keep a very full and busy schedule. Elements that guide nurse executive practice include:
· Networks of wellness, acute care, ambulatory and long term care providers
· Collaboration among health professionals in interdependent functions
· Partnerships with consumers
· Advocating for those who cannot advocate for themselves
· Leadership in cost-effective patient care

What it Takes
While decades of experience are not necessarily a pre-requisite in becoming a nurse executive, there are some basic criteria. For example, a master's degree in nursing administration; hospital or business administration; or equivalent experience is usually required. Nurse executives must also have strong leadership and management skills, along with critical thinking, decision-making, and communication skills.

Clinical assessment skills— the ability to organize, prioritize, and delegate— come in handy at the executive level as well. Clinical perspective also gives a nurse executive credibility in the eyes of the nursing and medical staff. Experience working as part of a team of healthcare providers, including physicians, is also an asset.

What it Involves
The role of nurses in executive practice has evolved from a focus on nursing services to a broader accountability for patient care services. As such, nurse executives are often viewed as members of the senior leadership team. Major responsibilities of a nurse executive include collaboration, coaching, mentoring, co-creating, communicating, and coordinating outcomes management. The nurse in an executive position also establishes department directions and strategies, plans programs, and administers budgets to meet the organization's overall goals.

Nurse executives are primarily involved with management and administration concerns. They provide leadership roles in the designing of care, the planning and developing of procedures and policies, and administration of budgets in hospitals, health clinics, nursing homes, and ambulatory care centers.

Lastly, nurse executives can hold jobs in hospitals, nursing homes, public or community health nursing settings, ambulatory care, student health services, nursing schools, or education departments. If you're interested in becoming a nurse executive or would like more information, visit the American Organization of Nurse Executives at http://www.aone.org/aone/index.jsp
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined.”
—Henry David Thoreau


Movin' On Up
How to Improve Your Career Path

Practically everyone wants to be successful in the workplace. However, getting your healthcare career moving in the right direction can prove extremely challenging.

Follow these five tips, and you'll find yourself closer to where you want to be.

1. Get the most out of your current position. Make every effort to build skills in your current job, so that if and when you go for a promotion, you have something to take with you. Also, focus on performing to the best of your abilities every single day—hard workers are much more likely to be promoted than those who sit around thinking they are too good or overqualified for their job.
2. Sharpen your computer skills. It really doesn't matter what your healthcare job entails—at some point you will probably need to be proficient in using a computer. Try to learn everything you can so that you are more marketable.
3. Develop a learning attitude. When it comes to your career, learning should never come to a standstill. Commit yourself to a lifetime of workplace learning and it will pay off nicely.
4. Network. Always talk to others in the profession. This will help you learn what skills you need and keep you in the loop when it comes to job opportunities.
5. Play nice. Healthcare is a people business. If you can't work well with others, you're going to go nowhere fast.

“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.”
—Vincent Van Gogh


Executive Humor

Healthcare organizations depend on executives and senior management to keep things running effectively and efficiently. However, we still like to poke fun at them and their ways!

How many executives does it take to change a light bulb?

• A roomful—they have to hold a meeting to discuss all the ramifications of change.
• None—they like to keep employees in the dark.
• “We've formed a task-force to study the problem of why light bulbs burn out, and to figure out what, exactly, we as supervisors can do to make the bulbs work smarter, not harder.”
• How many managers does it take to change a light bulb?
• “I want a detailed memo about this issue tomorrow morning.”
• “You were supposed to have changed that light bulb last week!”
• “We don't have a policy on that.”
• I am on my way to a very important meeting, so we'll discuss it another time.”
• Three. Two to find out if it needs changing, and one to tell an employee to change it.