The nurse manager is faced with a serious staffing shortage. One morning, two staff nurses complained to the charge nurse and the manager stating: "We just can't work under this situation much longer." What would be the best response from the nurse manager?
"You are such good nurses. I know you can handle this for the time being"
"I am in charge here. I am doing what I think is best under this shortage."
"Surely you can hang in there until this crisis is over. We will discuss this next month."
"I see we have a problem. Let's discuss this at the staff meeting
The Correct Answer is D
Conflict resolution in nursing management requires active listening and validating employee concerns to prevent burnout. Effective leadership involves acknowledging the organizational stressors while fostering a culture of collaborative problem-solving. Addressing staffing crises promptly maintains unit safety and morale.
Rationale:
A. This choice uses false reassurance and praise to deflect legitimate professional concerns. While it acknowledges their skill, it fails to address the systemic issue causing distress. Such responses often lead to moral injury as nurses feel their safety concerns are ignored.
B. This response reflects an authoritarian leadership style that stifles communication and staff engagement. It creates a hostile environment by dismissing the validity of the nurses' perspective. This lack of transparency typically increases nursing turnover during high-stress periods.
C. Dismissing the urgency of the situation by delaying the discussion minimizes the staff's current struggle. Effective management requires timely intervention rather than procrastination of critical unit issues. Failing to act until next month risks patient safety and staff resignation.
D. Acknowledging the problem demonstrates empathy and validates the staff's feelings immediately. Moving the discussion to a staff meeting creates a structured environment for collective input. This approach encourages shared governance and collaborative solutions to resolve the acute staffing shortage.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is D
Explanation
Hazardous material exposure requires decontamination, containment, exposure-control, public-safety measures to prevent secondary contamination. Removal of clothing eliminates ≥80% of contaminants; incomplete decontamination risks toxin spread to staff, environment, and other patients, necessitating strict protocol adherence despite patient resistance.
Rationale:
A. Allowing the patient to remain in undergarments compromises effective decontamination because clothing retains hazardous substances. This increases risk of continued exposure. This practice is unsafe. It violates protocol by failing to eliminate a major source of contamination.
B. Transporting the patient to an isolation room without prior decontamination risks contaminating the emergency department environment. Hazardous agents may spread to staff and surfaces. This action is inappropriate. It breaches containment principles essential in hazardous material incidents.
C. Spraying only exposed areas is insufficient because contaminants may permeate clothing and contact covered skin. Partial decontamination leaves residual toxins. This method is incomplete. It fails exposure-control standards required to ensure full removal of hazardous substances.
D. Refusing to allow the patient to leave the decontamination area until compliance ensures complete removal of contaminated clothing and proper cleansing. This protects staff and other patients. This enforcement supports safety by maintaining strict adherence to decontamination protocols.
Correct Answer is A
Explanation
Role theory in nursing management explores the psychosocial dynamics of professional expectations. Persistent occupational incongruity results in organizational dysfunction, where the individual experiences a decline in adaptive capacity, leading to a measurable reduction in the quality of administrative output and the failure to meet institutional benchmarks for leadership efficiency.
Rationale:
A. Hardy's research identifies that unmanaged role strain leads to functional decline. When a manager cannot reconcile competing demands, their professional efficacy diminishes, resulting in suboptimal decision-making and a quantifiable decrease in the overall productivity and performance of the nursing unit they oversee.
B. While frustration and anger are common emotional responses to workplace conflict, they are considered symptoms rather than the definitive organizational outcome of role strain. These affective disturbances contribute to a negative climate but do not represent the primary systemic impact described in Hardy’s conceptual framework.
C. Interpersonal conflict and the withdrawal from social supports are secondary social consequences of professional burnout. Although work-life imbalance can cause social isolation, Hardy specifically emphasizes the impact on the individual's role performance and their ability to function within the formal organizational structure.
D. Somatic symptoms and moral distress often manifest after prolonged stress exposure. However, chronic illness is a pathological state resulting from long-term exhaustion, whereas the theory specifically predicts that the immediate organizational result of unresolved role strain is the degradation of work-related tasks.
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