I contacted Dorinda Kirby, RN, for a knowledgeable discussion of the four main healthcare management functions of as a director for maternal child services. Dorinda is an expert in the field, having practiced for34 years. Of the 34 years, Dorinda served three years on the staff and as a charge RN, 25 years as a Nurse Manager and six years as a Director. Dorinda is the Director of Maternal Child Services at Merit Health River Oaks hospital. Dorinda reports to the Chief Nursing Executive, Sherry Cook, MSN, and Dorinda has three assistant directors that report to her, and the nurses …show more content…
Leading for Dorinda includes: directing the work activities of others, directing and coordinating the work activities, motivating employees, and so much more. Dorinda sets an example to be an effective leader for the other assistant directors. Dorinda has to be willing to get in there and be willing to work alongside the nurses and do whatever they have to do. Things like such might be changing beds, feeding a baby, starting an IV on a child. Dorinda said, “You have to be a part of the team and show that you are willing to help, you have to set an example that employees will want to strive towards to do better.” Dorinda stated that you have to work for the respect of your employees. She encourages them and teaches them when they are unsure of how to do something, don’t assume they have done something already. Dorinda said, “You have to treat them as an individual and as human being- learn about who they are, who their family is, etc.” When discussing how to resolve conflicts among organizational members, Dorinda stressed the importance of acting in a professional way. Resolving a conflict needs to be done as a leader, and as the leader, explain the issue and how things need to be done differently. When an issue arises Dorinda shows the employee the policy and procedure to discuss where things went wrong. Dorinda takes care of the disciplinary actions such as when an employee has excessive absentees, issues with care of patient. Documentation of incidents is very important and a witness is needed. If the issue involves a patient, there needs to be careful documentation of what the patient says and of what the nurse