An Interview With A Nurse Administrator

An interview with my nursing supervisor, Mr. Oussama El Deek. In partial fulfillment of the course requirements in Nursing Administration I, Master of Arts in Nursing, University of the Philippines Open University. _ _ _ _ _ Although fairly young in nursing management, Mr. El Deek shows promise in his upcoming challenges as an administrator. He believes that a manager/leader should not be boxed in with strict established leadership styles and he welcomes ideas from different approaches that greatly apply to specific scenarios, hence, his observance of situational leadership in the workplace. Prior experience as a staff nurse adds up to the effectiveness of a nurse manager as he understands what his staff nurses are going through. Mr. El Deek stresses the importance of this point as he was once a staff nurse who looks up to his leaders. Now that he is holding a position as an administrator, he believes that a good working environment could foster staff efficiency and create a harmonious relationship within the unit. These are among the top motivators of Mr. El Deek aside from having this position as an upward leap in his nursing career. Perhaps, one of his major contributions in his present workplace is the implementation of a triage system that addresses the needs of the Emergency Department. He had to observe and examine the previous classification system and suggest a more appropriate system to effectively manage the department's resources. Through introspection and critical thinking, Mr. El Deek exercises his decision making skills in the everyday challenges of being an administrator. Various responses were obtained from his staff nurses after asking, "Do you think Mr. El Deek is an effective leader and manager?" A staff nurse responded, "Yes, he maintains an open relationship to his staff." Somehow, this comment affirms Mr. El Deek's claim in an off-the-record interview that he is not the typical office man. According to him, he does not sit behind his desk and he seldom stays in his office and prefers to go and see the staff while they do their everyday activities. He also reaches out and involves himself to non-work related activities with his multicultural team which helps him understand their cultural background thereby crossing-out multicultural boundaries. However, another staff responded (to the same question), "He needs to delve deeper into the details within the unit so that he could provide significant and pro-staff changes." Mr. El Deek may be a neophyte in nursing administration but he truly exemplifies the characteristics of a good administrator. He gauges decision making based on sound judgement after drawing together different views from his staff and those who have more experience in the managerial position. Empowerment is one of his guiding work philosophies and he extends this viewpoint all through his affairs with delegation and staff handling. He utilizes technology and modernization in healthcare delivery and continues to develop himself professionally. _ _ _ _ _ Production Date: September 02, 2011 Production Notes: As observed in today's documentaries and short clips involving Q&A interviews, short film makers let their viewers draw out the questions based on the ideas and concepts derived from the interviewee's answers. I used that style in this video that shares the nurse administrator's motivations, leadership qualities and style, critical thinking and decision making skills, conflict management in the workplace, utilization of technology, and involvement in policy making. Original, uncompressed High Definition file (1280p by 720p) is 4 gigabytes; compressed file for YouTube is 239 megabytes. Total interview time 1 hour 20 minutes, compressed to 15 minutes. Video Software: Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10.0 Background Music: Porcelain by Moby http://www.moby.com Photo Overlay: Flickr's TheIMCJeddah http://www.flickr.com/photos/53093430@N05/