Juggling glass balls

Have you heard the story of the many balls we juggle? Some balls are made of rubber and bounce, while others are made of glass and will shatter, if dropped. Each of us determines the balls we juggle and some of them change, depending on a day’s priorities. Often, when I walk in the door of my clinic, my “family” ball changes from glass to rubber, because my kids are well cared for and safe for the day at school, but my “work” ball suddenly becomes glass. Some days, that glass ball stays in the air with what seems like little effort. Other days, I feel as though I should be wearing protective gear as I dive repeatedly to the floor in an attempt to catch my ball before it shatters.

There are many ways the Air Force is ahead of the times (or at least keeping pace). We utilize “mid-levels” to the fullest extent of their education; we embraced the electronic medical record long before our civilian peers; and we are constantly evolving in practice theory with a mindset of patients first.

Where do we fail? In managing our people and, often, the day-to-day running of our clinics. We put nurses or providers into mid-level management roles, and the position of “Group Practice Manager” is handed off like a hot potato to the most junior administrative lieutenant. The result? Often a poorly managed clinic, with constant errors in schedule templates and lots of scrambling to keep up to date on performance reports and award packages.

Have I seen it work? Yes, there are nurses or providers out there who are excellent managers, whose calling is more toward leading people, who display great juggling talent as they keep those glass balls in the air with apparent ease (or they just work 60-hour work weeks to make it all “look easy”). And I have seen group practice managers, with prior experience in running large civilian clinics, calm the chaos and facilitate better provider efficiency.

Why this discussion today? I spent the last week filling in for the nurse who normally performs our middle-management role, while I continued to see a clinic full of patients every day. I have said all along that both are full-time jobs and, when trying to do both, neither is done well. This week proved it. (As glass shattered all around me, I definitely needed protective gear!) 

I was consistently a few patients behind and frequently had a line of people out my door who wanted to update me on personnel issues or get paperwork signed. I missed my usual lunch catch-up time, spending it instead in meetings where my attendance was required but my input not needed. The saving grace? I was not on call, so I didn’t have that added stress.

The lesson I learned? I am a provider, and pretty good at it, but middle management is not where I want to spend my time! I am so thankful for those who do enjoy that role. It allows me to stay where I thrive, immersed in patient care and, most days, easily keeping the balls in the air and not surrounded by shattered glass!

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.