Looking Back

Over the years as a nurse and as a supervisor, I tried to pass along things that I learned; truths and shortcuts to make the jobs easier. After 28 years of supervising, I shared many things with anyone who oriented to the supervisory position. One of the first and foremost realities was to never let someone see that they’ve upset you. Excuse yourself from the situation, then go somewhere private, like private supervisor’s office, because it was separate from most areas of the hospital.

“Go inside and close the door. Then you can scream, cry, or kick the furniture, but always do it in private. If someone sees which button to push to upset you, they will repeatedly do it just to frustrate and anger you.” I explained.

The other truth was not to get comfortable either at lunch, on break, or with the job of supervising in general.

It never seemed to fail that I would no sooner get my lunch heated and sit down ready to eat, than I would get a page or a telephone call. Many of the times it would mean leaving my food and going somewhere to handle a problem or situation.

I would return later to cold, dried out food or because the situation took so much time, putting the meal away to take it back home, uneaten. For those who don’t understand what I’m talking about, have you ever tried to eat Tater Tots after they had been reheated three times?

The other part about getting comfortable with the job was thinking you knew all there was to being a supervisor, when nothing could be further from the truth. Almost every day the supervisor was called upon to face something new. They could have involved complaints from families, patients, or staff. Then there were problems with staffing, bed assignments, or the many things that fell outside of the normal policies and procedures.

The experiences expanded my scope of creativity, but believe me, after twenty-eight years supervising and dealing with all of the complaints, call offs, and unusual happenings, I was happy to hang up my spurs before I poked a hole in the water bed.