Claudia Bredthauer and Karol Martens form the new nursing management team
A breath of fresh air at the top of the nursing division at Hannover Medical School (MHH): Claudia Bredthauer (39) and Karol Martens (38) are taking over the management of nursing. This means that the Nursing Directorate has not only been restructured in terms of personnel, but also structurally, as the two are managing the division jointly as a duo. They are the equal superiors of more than 2,000 nursing staff at the MHH. In their new role, they replace Vera Lux, who was Director of Nursing at MHH for three and a half years and retired at the end of 2023
Innovative management model
"MHH was and remains forward-looking. We have therefore opted for joint leadership by Ms Bredthauer and Mr Martens," says Professor Dr Frank Lammert, who is responsible for patient care as Vice President of MHH. "Both have the best qualifications for their tasks as Nursing Director. "Job sharing at management level is part of MHH's current "family-friendly university / work and family" audit target agreement. It is an important building block in promoting the compatibility of family and career. Claudia Bredthauer and Karol Martens are very much looking forward to their new tasks.
Together they have 36 years of professional experience in the nursing sector, many of them in management.
Demographic change is a challenge
The biggest challenge for the management duo is probably demographic change. "Many baby boomers are already retiring. This will continue in the coming years and further exacerbate the nursing shortage," explains Karol Martens. In terms of patient safety, quality of care and employee satisfaction, the management duo will therefore not only focus on recruiting staff. "One of our most important tasks will be to inspire our employees to work at MHH, keep them healthy and offer them career prospects," explains Claudia Bredthauer. She is convinced that there are many development opportunities in the nursing profession - true to the motto "Nursing is more". The nursing management has set itself the goal of involving employees in the professionalisation process of the profession and jointly designing modern roles in nursing. The new role models are to include more decision-making authority directly at the bedside and in the various areas and dovetail with management, science and education.
Strengthening professionalisation and academisation
The new nursing management would like to further strengthen individual personnel development and continuously increase the proportion of academised nursing staff. An undergraduate nursing degree programme is to be established at the MHH."I see this as a clear mission for a university healthcare institution," says Claudia Bredthauer. One goal that the duo is already working on is the establishment of a new OR organisation division. The aim is to bring together medical OR management and nursing OR coordination in an interprofessional structure.
Shared responsibility, shared tasks
In February of this year, Karol Martens and Claudia Bredthauer jointly took over the provisional management of the Nursing division. In mid-July, they were officially appointed to the position of Nursing Director, with retroactive effect from 1 May. As Nursing Director, they both work full-time, but share tasks and responsibilities. Claudia Bredthauer is the contact person for the nursing teams in the general internal medicine wards, the intensive care units, the paediatric clinic and psychiatry, while Karol Martens is the contact person for the nursing teams in all surgical departments and, together with Dr Wolfgang Lobbes, for the new operating theatre organisation division. They do everything else together. This includes, for example, dealing with professional policy issues, strategic decisions for the nursing division, quality and care safety issues and plans for the new MHH building. "We always have our fixed joint leadership meeting on site on Mondays. We use this day for joint discussions, concept work and dialogue with other nursing managers," explains Karol Martens. Working together in a spirit of trust is the best way to jointly shape the future of MHH.
Many years of experience in nursing
Both started their careers at the MHH and have continued to develop professionally over the years. In Karol Martens, an operating theatre assistant is at the top for the first time. Since 2011, he has been Assistant Head of Operating Theatre Nursing and, from 2015, Head of the department. He completed his business studies with a master's degree in health economics. In 2020, he became Head of Nursing for the surgical departments at MHH.
Claudia Bredthauer trained as a healthcare and nursing assistant and worked in intensive care from 2008. She studied nursing science and graduated with a bachelor's degree. As part of a trainee programme, she completed a Master's degree in Public Health at the MHH. In 2014, she became a consultant to the nursing management and in 2020 her deputy.
Text: Tina Götting