“Conflict resolution would be a big one. I have 300 employees and they don’t always get along. It really depends on the situation, but it’s usually employee to employee. So I really try to mediate and get them to work it out between themselves. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. They don’t teach you that in nursing school; it’s really learning on the job.”

— Sebrina Parkins, RN, Director of Nursing, Kuakini Geriatric Care, Inc., Honolulu

How to delegate, and it’s the most challenging skill to learn. It’s hard for nurses to delegate with the changing of competencies.”

— Josie Enriquez, MSN, RN-BC, CNL, Director of Nursing, Oak Trace, Downers Grove, IL 

“A lot of nurses need to be more competent using the computer for EHR. Some of them don’t even know how to use the mouse. And social media — the nurses need to know more about Facebook and Twitter.”

— Dotts LaCap, RN, MS, CDONA, NCCDP, Director of Nursing, Seacrest Village at Encinitas, Encinitas, CA

“Building relationships with families, staff and residents because everybody needs to feel involved and important. It grows team building and better workers, and helps workers come in ready to do good.”

— Jane Keating, RN, CLNC, WCC, Consultant, Janand LLC, Manassas, VA

“Communication. You can’t do your job unless you can communicate with everybody — the staff, the residents, the families.”

— April Puckett, RN, Director of Nursing, Friendship Village Sunset Hills, Sunset Hills, MO

“Leadership and motivation. If you can’t be a leader and motivate for the right reasons, you can’t take care of the residents well. “

— Robin Storey, RN, BSN, FACDONA, Director, Post-Acute Care Strategies, Friendship Village Senior Living Communities, St. Louis 

“Prioritization, to be able to find the most important thing to work on throughout your day. So many people don’t get that. You’re still going to have to put out fires, but prioritization is important.”

— Jean Nelson, RN-BC, BSHCA, President, Florida Association Directors of Nursing Administration, West Palm Beach, FL

“Being a people person. You have to, because if you want to be a nurse or a CNA, you need to like people.” 

— Llena Sta. Ana Perez, BSN, RN, WCC, Director of Nursing, The Johnson Center at Falcons Landing, Potomac Falls, VA

From the October 01, 2016 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News