• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About KVH
  • Pay My Bill
  • Contact Us
  • Events & Education
  • Careers
  • Foundation
  • Show Search

KV Healthcare

MENUMENU
  • Clinics & Specialties
        • KVH Cardiology
        • KVH Dermatology
        • KVH ENT & Allergy
        • KVH Family Medicine – Cle Elum
          • Addiction Medicine
          • Anticoagulation Clinic
        • KVH Family Medicine – Ellensburg
          • Addiction Medicine
          • Anticoagulation Clinic
        • KVH General Surgery
        • KVH Geriatric Nurse Practitioners
        • KVH Home Health
          • Home Infusion Services
        • KVH Hospice
        • KVH Internal Medicine
          • Anticoagulation Clinic
        • KVH Neurology
        • KVH Occupational Medicine
        • KVH Occupational Therapy
        • KVH Orthopedics
        • KVH Pediatrics
        • KVH Physical Therapy
          • Aquatic Therapy
        • KVH Speech Therapy
        • KVH Urgent Care
        • KVH Vascular Surgery
        • KVH Women’s Health
        • KVH Workplace Health
        • KVH Wound Care
  • Hospital Services
    • Cardiopulmonary Services
      • Diagnostic Testing
    • Emergency Department
      • What to expect upon arrival
      • Ouchless ER
      • Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners
    • Family Birthing Place
      • What to Expect
      • Birth & Family Education
      • Lactation Services
      • 4th Trimester Resource Center
      • Pregnancy & Infant Loss
    • Imaging Services
      • Bone Densitometry
      • Computerized Tomography (CT)
      • Digital Fluoroscopy
      • Echocardiography
      • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
      • Digital Mammography
      • Radiography (X-ray)
      • Ultrasound
    • Laboratory Services
      • Standing Orders
      • Sample Collection
    • Nutrition Services
      • Nutrition Consultation
      • Diabetes Self-Management
      • Nutrition Classes
      • Diabetes Support Club
      • Nutrition Resources
    • Pharmacy Services
    • Surgical Services
      • Preparation for Surgery
      • Children & Surgery
  • Patients & Visitors
    • Checking In
      • Patient Policies
      • Patient Safety & Security
    • Visiting
    • Billing
      • Online Bill Payment
      • Price Transparency Tool
      • Bills from Other Providers
      • Insurance plans accepted at KVH
      • Insurance vs. Self Pay
      • Washington Health Plan Finder
    • DAISY Award Program
    • Medical Records
    • Patient Stories
    • Patient Portal
    • Quality of Care
    • Retail Pharmacy
  • Find a Provider
  • KVH News
  • Pay My Bill
  • MyPatientPortal
Hide Search

Behind the Scenes: House Supervisors

HealthNews · Jan 28, 2019 ·

Vicky Machorro

We recently sat down with CNO Vicky Machorro to learn more about House Supervisors at KVH Hospital. 

What exactly is a house supervisor?
The main role of a house supervisor is to ensure patients have adequate care coverage by coordinating staffing, while monitoring the flow of patients in and out of the hospital. That also includes managing employee injuries and sick calls, and even managing visitors at times.

During the day shift, the house supervisor works in collaboration with department directors. At night and off-shift/holidays, house supervisors also take on an administrator role.

When we hear a “Code Blue” or “Rapid Response” call overhead, what does that mean for the house supervisor?
The house supervisor is expected to responds to every code called at the hospital. They ensure we’ve got adequate people that can handle the situation. Sometimes they delegate tasks, depending on the code. They also set up staffing for code response, which means at the end of each shift, house supervisors assign staff to respond to codes for the next shift.

What kind of qualifications are needed to be a house supervisor?
You have to be a registered nurse, and stay up to date on certifications including Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support, and Basic Life Support. You also have trauma education, and neonatal resuscitation certification. Bottom line, house supervisors are expected to be able to perform to some extent in any clinical area.

What’s challenging about being a house supervisor?
It’s a multifaceted role. Boss, customer, supervisor, mediator – so you have to be able to adjust to all the different hats you may wear. And in that position they take on a large amount of responsibility, which means having broad shoulders when something doesn’t go as expected or people are discontented.

You have to be very diplomatic, you have to listen, you have to allow people to vent – and sometimes that’s all you do is listen, because you don’t have a solution. There are times when you just roll up your sleeves and get to work in uncomfortable situations. It’s part of the job.

What’s rewarding about the position?
Every day is a new day. Nothing is the same two days in a row. There are always new challenges.

What would you pack in a House Supervisor “go bag” to get through the day?
Food. A lot of times house supervisors don’t get lunch if things get busy at mealtime. Keep snacks handy to eat when you’re hungry. And I’m sorry, but sometimes it’s challenging to get to the bathroom during busy times. Or you have your phone on you but you miss calls.

You learn to be prepared and aware to take care of your daily needs as best you can. Because you’re also in a counseling type role, you need good coping skills to manage your own emotions while being there for patients and colleagues throughout the day.

We support each other, like when someone needs time to recover after a tough situation. It’s a little more challenging after hours or on weekends, but there are resources and we do back each other up.

Is it true that one of your crew also enjoys decking out the office for holidays?
Yes – and that’s great for our morale! Valentine’s Day is coming, so I’m sure we’ll see those decorations in the next week or so.

What’s it like, being the house supervisors’ supervisor?
Oh, wow. They’re a great bunch. This group has been consistent for quite some time. We haven’t had a lot of new people, so that’s good. They love what they do, they enjoy it, they’re professional, they’re very competent. And they know when to call to me about something – that’s so reassuring to me.

Did you ever do work as a house supervisor?
Yes, I did it for four years! It was my most favorite job, because you had your finger in everything. You got to know the staff. And every day is a new day.

Behind the Scenes behind the scenes, healthcare, staff

Primary Sidebar

Categories

MENUMENU
  • KVH Stories
    • Patient Stories
    • Provider Stories
    • Donor Stories
    • Employee Stories
    • Volunteer Stories
      • Bereavement Group
      • Courtesy Desk
      • Imaging
    • Share Your Story
    • All
  • Blog Posts
    • Behind the Scenes
    • Childbirth & Family Education
    • Community
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Provider
    • Safety
    • COVID-19
    • All
  • News & Media
    • KVH News
    • Weather/Disaster Notifications
  • Press Releases

Popular Posts

  • Behind the Scenes: House Supervisors
  • Tom Penoyar, MD
  • KVH Speech Therapy & Occupational Therapy to Showcase New Facility
  • KVH transitions to a new Chief Nursing Officer
  • Coronavirus: a local story

Footer Top 1

HRSA National Health Service Corps Site

Footer Top 2

603 S. Chestnut Street - Ellensburg, WA 98926
(509) 962-9841

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Footer Top 3

Footer Bottom 1

Download the MyPatient Portal App
Apple Store Google Play Store

Footer Bottom 2

  • About KVH
  • Careers
  • Board of Commissioners
  • Contact Us
  • Foundation

Footer Bottom 3

  • Our Locations
  • Hospital Services
  • Clinics & Specialty Services
  • Patients & Visitors
  • Events & Education
  • Press Releases
  • KVH Legal Information

Footer Bottom 4

Google Translate