Healthcare services have evolved of the past few decades and the sector has become a more organized one. It has become a necessity for the industry to convey the best solutions to patients and ensure a healthier life free from ailments. In order to achieve this, proper administration and delegation of duties are most important and the role of nurses in this regard is indispensable.
The nursing management hierarchy sees to it that the prescriptions made by the physicians are strictly adhered to by the patients and ensures proper coordination of the medications to be applied to the patient. This requires proper categorization of the roles and responsibilities of nurses at all levels.
Nurses need to be sanguine with the very basic as well as the supervisory activities. This is very important since the nursing management hierarchy requires nurses to tend to patients having various ailments as and when required. So it is desirable that nurses at various levels have the working knowledge to carry out their assigned duties. The hierarchy can be broadly categorized as follows:
I. The Administrative Level
This level comprises the senior job profiles which require the nurses to oversee and coordinate the activities of the entire team. They are also involved in training the junior nurses in the activities to be carried out in the best interest of the patients. This administrative outlook helps in identifying lacunas and fixing them and recognizing exemplary activities as well. The profiles under this hierarchy are:
- Chief Nursing Officer
- Director of Nursing
- Nurse Manager/Supervisor
- Advanced Nursing Practitioner/Specialist
- Assistant Manager, Nursing
II. The Middle Level
This is the hierarchical structure level in which nurses are required to attain specialization in various medical fields in line with their previous qualifications. This is important since they undertake the responsibility of focusing their services and coordinating the activities of junior nurses to cater to specific medical requirements of patients. The job titles under this level are:
- Nurse, Intensive Care/Coronary Care
- Registered/Certified Nurse, Cardiac Care
- Registered/Certified Nurse, Operating room
- Anesthetist
- Registered/Certified Nurse, Medicines
- Associate Nurse, Relief
III. The Executive/Lower/Entry Level
The nurses in this nursing management hierarchy carry out the activities in line with the instructions and directions given by the head nurse, supervisor, or specialist nurse. They join the organization at an entry level and they need to have a license to render the services. The Nursing job description involves assisting patients and extending support services to the registered or certified specialist nurses in their activities. The job profiles in this level are as follows:
- Associate Licensed Nurses
- LVN or Licensed Vocation Nurses
- Staff Nurse/Senior Staff Nurse
- Staff Registered Nurse
- Certified Nurse Associate
The nursing management hierarchy involves proper administration and coordination of activities and delegation of responsibilities to the specialist or executive level. This hierarchy helps in carrying out the tasks in a proper manner by distributing the work strategically among levels.