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Running head: MANAGER INTERVIEW 1

Manager Interview
Tiffany Neuman & Sydonie Stock
Ferris State University

MANAGER INTERVIEW 2

Manager Interview
Managing styles are important in leading and vary from person to person. A manager is
someone who addresses complex issues by planning, budgeting, and setting target goals, a
leader, on the other hand, set[s] a direction, develop[s] a vision, and communicate[s] the new
direction to the staff (Yoder-Wise, 2014, p. 57). Amanda Wood is the Associate Vice President
of Nursing at Methodist Stone Oak Hospital in San Antonio, Texas (phone communication,
February 4, 2014). She is a manager by title and a leader by action.
Amandas education background consists of a Bachelors of Science in Nursing and a
Masters of Science in Nursing, leadership track. Amanda started her Nursing career as a
telemetry nurse on the night shift. For the next three to four years, she worked as an agency nurse
in Kansas City. She traveled to Texas and fell in love with the state. She worked at Methodist in
Texas for five years on the resource team. Her supervisor discussed her future with her and they
determined her passion was in leadership. Amandas next position was in leadership on the
Intensive Care Unit and Progressive Care Unit (ICU/PCU) as the director (phone
communication, February 4, 2014).
Two years ago, April, she became the Associate VP of the Surgical, ICU/PCU, and
Resource Nurses, and had only good things to say about the position. Amanda explained that in
order to do this job, you need to be able to talk to people, be a very good communicator, be a
happy person with high energy, be able to deliver bad news in a good way, the staff needs to be
able to trust you, be creative, have an open door policy, and the ability to motivate your staff.
She believes highly in Transformational leadership and quantum leadership and wrote her
masters thesis on these leadership styles (phone communication, February 4, 2014).
Transformational leadership is based on an inspiring vision that changes the framework of the
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organization for employees (Yoder-Wise, 2014, p. 42). Quantum management, also called
quality management refers to the philosophy that defines a healthcare culture emphasizing
customer satisfaction, innovation, and employee involvement (p. 390).
Job Duties
Amanda described herself as a Jack of all trades (phone communication, February 4,
2014). Some duties she performs as the Associate VP of Nursing are: hiring, firing, direct
reports, rounding on 200 employees, code blue reports for the ICU, rapid response reports,
active planning, budget analysis, collaborates with other Nursing directors, nurse leader
rounding, investigates risks, and is a member of the Systems Committee (phone communication,
February 4, 2014).
Amanda considers her main responsibility to be driving the boat and making sure no one
falls off (phone communication, February 4, 2014). She oversees the nurse and patient
relationships to ensure everyone is being taken care of. She is aware of everything that goes on in
her department (phone communication, February 4, 2014).
She reports directly to the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) while the Resource nurses,
ICU/PCU, and Surgical nurses report to her on a daily basis (phone communication, February 4,
2014).
Collaboration
Amanda collaborates with other directors on a varying time table. Some she meets with
on a quarterly basis while others she communicates with on a monthly or even weekly basis. She
works with other facilities within the healthcare system, she is on the integration team, and the
critical care team, just to name a few. Within her department, she meets with colleagues to
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discuss staffing. She is on the Throughput committee that meets monthly to discuss patient
length of stay and bed turnover rates (phone communication, February 4, 2014).
She communicates with others via phone conferences, web-expos, and face to face
meetings. Amanda describes web-expos as the best way to communicate when meeting with
other facilities (phone communication, February 4, 2014). During the face to face meetings, they
analyze the data collected, determine if anything is missing and develop a plan to resolve the
missing elements (phone communication, February 4, 2014).
Legal Issue
Evidence
Amandas example of a legal issue she recently faced was a story about a patient in the
ICU. The patient was unable to communicate her wishes, but required multiple invasive medical
interventions. Her significant other was resisting the treatment required to help her. In this
situation, they held an ethics meeting. This meeting consisted of the chaplain, the significant
other and two attorneys representing the hospital and the patient. The significant other was
adamant about not keeping her in the hospital. It was determined through patient advocacy by the
nurses that it was in the best interest of the patient to stay and receive the necessary treatment
(phone communication, February 4, 2014).
Analysis and Support
In analyzing the scenario, it was determined that advocating for the patient is the most
important duty a nurse performs. The significant other had no legal standing to influence the
patients care. Therefore, holding the ethics meeting was the appropriate action in order to make
the significant other aware of the situation. The hospital and healthcare staff could be held liable
for following the significant others wishes and not treating her (Yoder-Wise, 2014, pp. 75-6).
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Allowing the significant other to make health care decisions affecting the patient was not
appropriate, because he was not her legal representative according to the informed consent
requirements (p. 81).
Power and Influence
Evidence
Amanda described her power as the Associate VP of Nursing as ways to get things done
for her team. She was able to get the equipment and resources for her team because she is able to
explain the need for these resources adequately and the CNO knows Amanda does not ask for
things her nurses dont need. She influences her team by letting them know she is available for
anything they may need. To build a foundation of what type of leader Amanda is, she goes
elbow to elbow with them, believes in leading by example, and states you have to live it,
breathe it, do it every day (phone communication, February 4, 2014). Amanda is a believer in
thanking people no matter what, this shows her appreciation and acknowledgement to the team
(phone communication, February 4, 2014).
Analysis and Support
A leader is someone able to elicit a vision from people and to inspire and empower those
people to do what it takes to bring the vision into reality. Leaders bring out the best in people
(Yoder-Wise, 2014, p. 39). During the interview, it was apparent that Amanda is passionate
about her job. She clearly has a positive influence on her team, as evidenced by her practice of
thanking people no matter how small the deed. According to Yoder-Wise (2014), an effective
leader does not send members to a job but, rather, leads them toward a mutual goal as a team (p.
44). Amanda does this by joining her team in working side-by-side with them every day and
leading by example.
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Decision-Making and Problem Solving Process
Evidence
Amandas problem solving process includes the perspectives of all parties involved. She
does not take the word of one at face value, but investigates deeper into the problem. Amanda
stated that the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle, talking about the two differing views
(phone communication, February 4, 2014). Once a problem has been identified, she will coach
first, teaching the person the appropriate method (phone communication, February 4, 2014).
According to Yoder-Wise (2014), coaching is a process that involves the development of
individuals within an organization (p. 301). It is a personal approach in which the manager and
the employee interact on a frequent and regular basis with the ultimate outcome that the
employee performs at an optimal level (p. 301). Amanda wants the staff member to learn from
the experience, not to dwell on the errors made. If the mistake is made again, she will then
proceed to disciplinary action. Everything must be documented and saved so there is evidence of
proper actions taken. As the leader of her team, Amanda stated that it is essential to communicate
effectively with her team (phone communication, February 4, 2014).
Amandas decision making revolves around making sure the patient is safe and getting
the best care. Her first priority is the patient (phone communication, February 4, 2014).
Analysis and Support
It is important to get both sides of any conflict to reduce the influence of any biases
present (phone communication, February 4, 2014). This is called conceptualization, where
different interpretations of a situation are analyzed and the facts are determined (Yoder-Wise,
2014, p. 467). Learning from the mistakes made will help improve the staff members self-
confidence, instead of feeling down because they did something incorrectly. The next time that
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person is in that situation, they should be able to respond appropriately. If not, it is correct to
then punish the person, because it is their obligation to resolve an action previously discussed
(phone communication, February 4, 2014).
Amanda demonstrates the characteristics of a leader of an entrenched workforce which
is defined as employees older than 35 years and considered baby boomers (Yoder-Wise,
2014). The characteristics are being motivational, honest, approachable, competent, and
knowledgeable (pp. 46-7). Amanda shows this by coaching, or teaching, to support the
nursing staff in helping them to learn their mistakes. Since she is open and caring, the staff may
feel more comfortable in going to her for guidance (phone communication, February 4, 2014).
Management and Resolution of Conflict
Evidence
Amanda gave two examples of conflict resolution. The first was a conflict with a patient
or the patients family. Sometimes they are upset about something out of the nurses control and
it is difficult for Amanda to listen to the family tearing down [her] staff because she knows her
staff is doing the best they can (phone communication, February 4, 2014). She believes in taking
control and managing up the situation, and doing her best to fix it; but has a hard time seeing
family members upset when she knows there is nothing she can do to fix the situation (phone
communication, February 4, 2014). Other times the staff is at fault. In this situation it is
important to acknowledge when the nurse had done wrong, and apologize (phone
communication, February 4, 2014).
The second example Amanda gave involved conflict within the team. If a team member
approaches her with a problem, her response is Tell me what your solution is (phone
communication, February 4, 2014). This empowers the person to work through conflicts on their
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own. The team member is now thinking of the process and identifying possible outcomes. This
increases their self-confidence, and the next time they encounter a problem the team member
will be able to solve it and simply tell Amanda this is what happened, this is how I handled it,
this is how it turned out (phone communication, February 4, 2014).
Analysis and Support
Amandas conflict resolution process is suitable in that she supports her team in working
together to formulate solutions. By doing this, she is encouraging them to look beyond the
problem and see results. Amanda teaches her team that action must be taken in order to resolve a
conflict (phone communication, February 4, 2014). Yoder-Wise (2014) states that successful
resolution frequently stems from identifying a common goal that unites (p. 468), Amanda
encourages her team to see that patient safety is their goal in conflict resolution (phone
communication, February 4, 2014).
Conclusion
Being a leader takes knowledge, experience, and skill, among other attributes. There are
many responsibilities of the Associate Vice President of Nursing that those aspiring to this
position need to consider. The leadership styles and personalities play a large role in how
effective the leader is. Amanda is a very energetic, enthusiastic, and driven leader, and through
the interview process it was obvious that she is a successful leader of her team. One must commit
themselves to the role of a leader in order to excel.

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References
Yoder-Wise, P. (2014). Leading and managing in nursing (5
th
ed.) (Revised reprint). St. Louis,
MO: Elsevier Mosby.

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