Nurse managers: the ties that bind

The staff nurses' immediate manager directly influences an NICU's ability to attract and retain professional nurses. This makes it especially important that nurse executives and administrators identify opportunities to better meet the needs of their nurse managers and measure the impacts of their decisions. Data about front-line manager turnover need to be measured, reported, and examined. No longer can organizations afford to view managers as another expense; they are an asset on the balance sheet. Strategic planning for the recruitment and retention of nurse managers will be vital both to an organization's healthy bottom line and to the quality of its patient care.