A nurse manager's week is filled with handling routine and repetitive issues. Which strategy should the manager employ to make handling these tasks most effective and efficient?
A) Ask those involved to leave voice mail messages about any routine matter.
B) Encourage those involved in routine matters to call between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. each day.
C) Keep the office door open to be accessible to those dealing with these routine tasks.
D) Hold a meeting each week especially for dealing with routine and nonurgent matters.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

1. Having people leave voice mail messages is not efficient. The manager must then take time to retrieve, listen to, and respond to these messages. Voice mail also does not facilitate the face-to-face discussion often necessary to address routine issues.
2. Having a designated time for handling these issues is probably the second best option. However, spending 2 hours each day may be excessive. Also, the hours between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. are often extremely busy, both for the nurses handling routine issues and for the nurse manager.
3. Allowing unlimited access to the nurse manager encourages drop-in visits, which can be time wasters.
4. Having a regularly scheduled meeting encourages those with routine questions to hold their concerns for a specific time. Setting this time aside also allows time for thoughtful discussion of topics as necessary.

A Nurse Manager's Week Is Filled with Handling Routine and Repetitive