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Any change in the distribution of time spent on your personal and career goals. This can help you
various activities can have a considerable impact on make decisions about the future.
patient care and on the organization’s bottom line. This concept can be applied to daily activities as
Prescott (1991) offered the following example: well as help in career decisions. Ask yourself ques-
tions about what you want to accomplish over a
If more unit management responsibilities could be
particular period. Personal development skills
shifted from nurses to non-nursing personnel, about
include discipline, goal setting, time management
48 minutes per nurse shift could be redirected to
and organizational skills, self monitoring, and a
patient care. In a large hospital with 600 full-time
positive attitude toward the job (Bos & Vaughn,
nurses, the result would be an additional 307 hours
1998). Many of the personal management and
of direct patient care per day. Calculating the results
organizational skills related to the workplace focus
of this time-saving strategy in another way shows
on time management and scheduling. Most new
an even greater impact: the changes would con-
nurses have the skills required to perform the job
tribute the equivalent of the work of 48 additional
but lack the personal management skills necessary
full-time nurses to direct patient care.
to get the job done, specifically when it comes to
Many health-care institutions are considering inte- time management.
grating units with similar patient populations and To help organize your time, set both short- and
having them managed by a non-nurse manager, long-term goals. Short-term goals are those that
someone with business and management expertise, you wish to accomplish within the near future.
not necessarily nursing skills. However, as a group, Setting up your day in an organized fashion is a
nurses respect managers who have nursing expertise short-term goal, as is scheduling a required medical
and who are able to perform as nurses.They believe errors or domestic violence course.
that a nurse-manager has a greater understanding of Long-term goals are those you wish to complete
both patient and professional staff needs.To address over a long time. Advanced education and career
these service concerns, many educational institu- goals are examples. A good question to ask yourself
tions have developed dual graduate degrees com- is,“What do I see myself doing 5 years from now?”
bining nursing and management. Every choice you make requires a different alloca-
tion of time (Moshovitz, 1993).
Organizing Your Work
Alinore, a licensed practical nurse returning to
Setting Your Own Goals school to obtain her associate’s degree in nursing,
It is difficult to decide how to spend your time faced a multitude of responsibilities. A wife, a
because there are so many tasks that need time. A mother of two toddlers, and a full-time staff mem-
good first step is to take a look at the situation, ber at a local hospital, Alinore suddenly found
and get an overview.Then ask yourself, “What are herself in a situation in which there just were not
my goals?” Goals help clarify what you want and enough hours in a day. She became convinced that
give you energy, direction, and focus. Once you becoming a registered nurse was an unobtainable
know where you want to go, set priorities. This is goal. When asked where she wanted to be in 5 years,
not an easy task. Remember Alice’s conversation she answered,“At this moment, I think, on an island
with the Cheshire Cat in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in in Tahiti!” Several instructors helped Alinore devel-
Wonderland: op a time plan. First, she was asked to list what she
did each day and how much time each task required.
“Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go
This list included basic child care, driving children
from here?” asked Alice.
to and from day care, shopping, cooking meals,
“That depends a good deal on where you want to
cleaning, hours spent in the classroom, study hours,
go to,” said the Cat.
work hours, and time devoted to leisure. Once this
“I don’t care where,” said Alice.
was established, she was asked which tasks could be
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said
allocated to someone else (e.g., her husband), which
the Cat (Carroll, 1907).
tasks could be clustered (e.g., cooking for several days
How can you get somewhere if you do not know at a time), and which tasks could be shared. Alinore’s
where you want to go? It is important to explore husband was willing to assist with car pools, grocery