How local, first-line nurse leaders can positively influence nurse intent to stay and retention: A realist review.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore evidence on how local nurse leaders can positively influence nurse retention. BACKGROUND: Nurse turnover and retention is a wicked problem with multiple interrelated factors and no one solution. Local nurse leadership has the potential to positively influence nurse intent to stay directly or via various factors. DESIGN: A realist review. METHODS: Having designed a search strategy based on a tentive programme theory, 1386 initial hits in three databases were screened and reduced to 48 research articles published between 2010-2021. The articles' content were coded for findings that supported, refined or contradicted four ContextMechanismOutcome configurations. RESULTS: Sufficient evidence was found to support four guiding lights encouraging local nurse leaders to: (1) foster relational connectedness; (2) enable professional practice autonomy; (3) cultivate healthful workplace cultures; (4) support professional growth and development. Mutuality and reciprocity is also key if leaders themselves are to experience wellbeing and growth. CONCLUSIONS: Person-centred, transformational and resonant local nurse leaders can positively influence nurse intent to stay within the workplace or organisation. REPORTING METHOD: Conform JCN guideline 'What to cover in the main tekst by article type' for reviews. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No Patient or Public Contribution.

'Guiding Lights for effective workplace cultures': enhancing the care environment for staff and patients in older people's care settings.

While much attention has been given to organisational culture, there has been less focus on workplace culture. Yet workplace culture strongly influences the way care is delivered, received and experienced. An effective workplace culture is crucial for the well-being of individual staff members and teams as well as for patients' experiences and outcomes of care. This article describes the 'Guiding Lights for effective workplace cultures' which were developed by the authors and provide a framework to assist in understanding and promoting effective workplace cultures and creating environments where staff and patients feel safe and valued. There are four Guiding Lights: 'collective leadership', 'living shared values', 'safe, critical, creative learning environments' and 'change for good that makes a difference'. Each one articulates what good workplace cultures are through descriptors and intermediate outcomes and together produce a set of ultimate outcomes. The Guiding Lights provide nurses working in older people's care settings with an opportunity to learn from, and celebrate, what is going well in their workplaces and to consider areas that require further development.

Developing leadership in postdoctoral nurses: A longitudinal mixed-methods study.

BACKGROUND: Postdoctoral nurses have an important role in advancing nursing by generating knowledge and building networks in research, practice, and education which requires effective leadership. Therefore, the Leadership Mentoring in Nursing Research programme for postdoctoral nurses was developed. PURPOSE: This study was to evaluate expectations, experiences, and perceived influence of the leadership mentoring programme on leadership and professional development, professional identity, and research productivity of postdoctoral nurses. METHODS: A longitudinal mixed-method study with a concurrent triangulation design was used with data collected through semistructured interviews and online surveys. FINDINGS: The leadership mentoring programme was found to be valuable by the participants who described strengthened leadership and professional development and development of professional identities. Participants showed increased research productivity and many moved to new/higher positions. DISCUSSION: The leadership mentoring programme was found to enhance the leadership and professional development of postdoctoral nurses and support them in their academic careers.

Person-centred leadership: A relational approach to leadership derived through action research.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: How does person-centred leadership manifest in clinical nursing. BACKGROUND: Person-centred practice fosters healthful relationships and is gaining increasing attention in nursing and health care, but nothing is known about the influence of a person-centred approach to leadership practice. Most leadership models used in nursing were originally developed outside of nursing. DESIGN: A 3-year participatory action research study where participant leaders planned, researched and learned from their practice development. METHODS: After an orientation phase, four action spirals focused on: critical and creative reflective inquiries into leadership practice change; leading the implementation and evaluation of a new nursing system; facilitating storytelling sessions with staff; and annually reflecting on personal leadership change. Multiple data gathering methods offered insight into leadership development from several perspectives. RESULTS: Critical and creative thematic data analysis revealed a set of attributes, relational processes and contextual factors that influenced the being and becoming of a person-centred leader. Comparing the findings with nursing leadership literature supports a conceptual framework for person-centred leadership. CONCLUSIONS: Person-centred leadership is a complex, dynamic, relational and contextualised practice that aims to enable associates and leaders achieve self-actualisation, empowerment and well-being. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This study and its conceptual framework is of relevance to practitioners, educationalists and researchers interested in developing a relational approach to nurse leadership and person-centred cultures.

A Kaleidoscope of Hope: Exploring Experiences of Hope Among Service Users and Informal Carers in Health Care Contexts.

BACKGROUND: There is a large and diverse literature on the concept of hope in health care. This literature covers a broad spectrum of perspectives, from philosophical, conceptual, and theoretical analysis through to attempts at measuring the concept of hope with differing health care users. AIMS: To explore the concept of hope through the secondary analysis of existing data sets, with the intention of understanding hope in the context of person-centeredness. RESEARCH QUESTION: What is the experience of hope among service users and informal carers in different health care contexts? METHOD: Secondary analysis of data derived from three research studies. FINDINGS: We identified four key themes that together illustrate what we describe as a kaleidoscope of hope, reinforcing the view that there is no one presentation of hope and that practitioners must engage authentically with service users to determine the most effective and appropriate intervention strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Hope is not a singular phenomenon, and in the context of person-centered practice there is a need for practitioners to engage authentically with service users and listen carefully to what may bring hope for them.