Analyzing a Leader

Analyzing a Leader
Rebecca Sherborne and Charissa Deur
Nurs 440
July 5th, 2016

2
Introduction
Leadership is an important part of nursing, in fact nurses must have leadership to move
forward in harmony with changes in society and in health care(Yoder-wise, 2015, pg. ). This
paper explores the leadership role and responsibilities of Adam Mencerelli, the nurse manager
of the resource department at Spectrum Health Grand Rapids. Mencerelli graduated from Ferris
State University with his BSN, and has been with Spectrum Health for the last nine years. At this
time he is working on a management certification and is planning on returning for his MSN in
the next few months. Throughout Mencerellis career at Spectrum Health he has been a
phlebotomist, emergency department RN, Charge nurse in the ED, hospital supervisor and his
current position.
Role and Responsibilities
As nurse manager of the resource department, Mencerellis role is much different than the
manager of a specific unit. There are about two hundred and seventy employees that comprise
this department; As their manager he is responsible for providing the necessary resources for
these employees to be successful. This means making sure that all employees receive the
appropriate training, education, and regular support for their roles. However unlike other units it
works like an umbrella in order to meet the needs of the organization as a whole, for this reason
Mencerelli explained that he spends a majority of his time interviewing potential future
employees with hopes of providing for the hospitals staffing needs. In order to execute his job
effectively Mencerelli receives a large amount of help from those who fall under the umbrella
like department structure. Underneath him are his staffing manager who also has fifty other
people that work below her, there are also twelve hospital supervisors that keep track of about 12
resource workers each and help with annual performance reviews. As manager of the resource

3
center Mencerelli reports to the director or nursing finance, Terry Popa who is not an RN but has
a degree in finance. After talking with Mencerelli it was was evident that the biggest philosophy
that guides the department is teamwork and ultimately the betterment of Spectrum Health as a
whole.
Analysis
Being a nurse leader is more than just what role is played or what the responsibilities you
hold, there are many skills that are important such as: quality communication, knowledge about
the health care environment, leadership style, business skills, and also professional skills. First
there there is communication, the ability to establish trusting interpersonal relationships with
patients, peers, subordinates, and superiors to maximize goal achievement and enhance the
personal growth of all participants(Lillis & Lynn, 2011, p. 497). Communication between a
float department can be particularly tricky, staff of this unit are constantly thrown into unfamiliar
environments where they do not know many people. According to Mencerelli he facilitates
communication throughout the department in a variety of ways such as email and monthly staff
meetings. Upon hire he emphasizes the importance of checking email every shift, although he
admits communication between float employees could still use some improvement. After reading
the AONE many of these communication techniques align with their criteria, one of these criteria
includes producing cogent and persuasive written materials to adress nursing, healthcare, and
organizational issues (AONE,pg. 4). As resource manager he sends out pertinent information
about education, organization policy change, and other relative information specific to each
position. Another AONE criteria that is met is the building of trust, collaborative relationships
with staff (AONE, pg.4), Mencerelli has an open door policy and was emphasized the fact that

4
he will always make time to hear any concerns or problems which is an extremely important
quality for a leader.
Knowledge about the health care environment is also extremely important for a leader,
this includes both quality improvement and risk management practices. According to AONE
quality improvement this means targeting outcomes that are evidence-based (AONE, pg 6).
One such quality improvement program that the resource department uses is called golden
ticket, this is a staff led initiative that recognizes which units are using better processes. It
allows units to share information about ways that work better, which helps improve patient
outcomes. Risk management is also an important part of the health care environment which
means identifying areas or risk/liability (AONE, pg.6). According to Mencerelli the current
system being used is the ISIS system, this allows employees to submit event concerns
anonymously if desired and allows for further investigation. The event is triaged by the spectrum
risk management department and a report is then forwarded to the appropriate manager. The
reason this is done is to prevent a situation from occurring again, and to help maintain the safety
of everyone at the hospital.
The style of a leader can also have a big impact of the success of the staff, when asked
what style leader Mecerelli thought he was he stated transparent, and supportive. One of the
leadership characteristic AONE describes the importance of adressing ideas, beliefs, and
viewpoints that should be serious consideration but also to support staff during times of
difficult transitions (AONE, pg. 8). Being a transparent manager to Mencerelli means
encouraging open lines of communication which not just inform employees of changes but
explain why changes are being made to help support staff transitions. This paired with his open
door policy allows any views or beliefs to be voiced about changes from staff directly affected.

5
Mencerelli stressed how much he values input from staff members and openly admits that he
has never walked a day in our shoes, but considers everything brought to him and has even
used this input to make changes throughout the hospital. One example of change helps exemplify
patient safety by requiring that safety attendants be offered regular breaks. Previously many
safety attendants were getting in trouble for falling asleep, in order to prevent this other staff are
required to check in every hour now and the safety attendant must keep a log of when checks are
done.
Being professional is important for staff at all time, it is important that not only should
staff present themselves in an appropriate manner, but also make ethical decisions and advocate
for their patients. One of the big thing that Mencerelli looks for when hiring someone is can
they do the right thing 100% of the time?, this lines right up with the Core spectrum values to
protect patients, and their rights. This also is creates an environment that has a reputation for
high ethical standards(AONE, pg 8). Part of creating an environment of high standards comes
from the staff holding each other accountable also, for example one of the policies to protect
patients is the wash in, wash out policy, it should be known by that staff member the
importance of hand washing, but it is also up to their peers to speak up if this was missed. It is
not up to any one person to maintain professionalism, we must all hold each other accountable to
the highest standards and actively make the best decisions with the patient in mind.
One of the last important skills a leader must possess are business skills, because at the
end of the day Spectrum Health is a business. As a resource manager this is one of the most
important part of Mencerellis job, he is responsible for making sure that the organizations
staffing needs are met via hiring float staff. According to Mencerelli staffing and budgeting
works differently on his department because they are only responsible for non productive time

6
this means anything away from the patients bedside (training, education, meetings, etc.), while
the staff pay actually comes from the units they are sent to. In contrast floor units run on a HPPD
staffing model which measures and reports on the direct clinical care hours required and
provided by nurses(Workload monitoring, n.d). In order to select from the best candidates
Mencerelli sat down with the Spectrum Health talent recruiters and discussed what their
expectations were of him, and what his expectations were of them. This open line of
communication has been very beneficially for the organization in the fact that he hires a majority
of the candidates pushed through to him because the recruiters are already aware of his
expectations of what the ideal future staff member should be like.
Conclusion
Interviewing Mencerelli was extremely eye opening into the way the Spectrum Health
organization functions. It is an ever growing organization that is only possible through teamwork
and the high standards set for patient care. In order to be a good leader it is also important to
have open lines of communication that listen to concerns which can help facilitate quality
improvement in the spectrum organization. risk management and staffing are also two big areas
of concern as a nurse manager. It is important that conflict is confronted and a plan is created for
potentially dangerous situations to be avoided in the future. It is also important to have staff that
follow safety protocols and make ethical decisions advocating for their patients 100% of the
time. I believe that being a nurse manager for the resource department has many challenges to
overcome but Mencerelli has proved that with a good leader it is possible.

7
References
Lillis, T., & Lynn, L. (2011). Fundamentals of Nursing (7 ed.). : Lippincott williams & wilkins.
The American Organization of Nurse Executives. (2011). competencies. Retrieved from
https://fsulearn.ferris.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1269143-dt-content-rid8535591_1/courses/50379.201605/11122.201501_ImportedContent_20150103010415/A
ONE_NEC%281%29.pdf
Workload Monitoring. (n.d). Retrieved from
http://www.nursing.health.wa.gov.au/planning/workload_man.cfm
Yoder-wise, P. (2015). Leadership and Managing in Nursing (6 ed.). : Elsevier Inc.
7