Operational nurse managers' perceptions on the competence of community service nurses in public settings in the Western Cape.

BACKGROUND: Community service nurses placed in the Western Cape Government public health facilities render essential healthcare to underserved populations. Anecdotal evidence from operational nurse managers indicated concerns that community service nurses may lack competence in basic required nursing competencies. OBJECTIVES: To investigate operational nurse managers' perceptions of the competence of community service nurses in public health facilities in the Western Cape. METHOD: A quantitative survey was conducted with an all-inclusive sample of 297 operational nurse managers in the Western Cape. A self-administered questionnaire with 65 questions with a 4-point rating scale was used to rate perceived competence of community service nurses across the South African Nursing Council (SANC) competencies. Descriptive and inferential statistics were calculated per competency domain. RESULTS: The survey (response rate: 59%) showed that the operational nurse managers perceived the community service nurses to be competent in the clinical patient care domain and mostly either developing proficiency or proficient in the SANC competencies of legal framework and ethical practice, interprofessional relationships, leadership, quality management and management competency domains. CONCLUSION: Community service nurses were found to be competent in the clinical patient care, possibly because of the integration of theory and practice focus of work-integrated learning in the programme. Education and practice supportive strategies for community service nurses should be developed to support the successful transition from students to community service nurses, especially around the development of research and critical thinking skills.

A Qualitative Study of Nursing Management in Iran.

Background: Nursing managers have a critical role at the hospitals. The current study aims to investigate different experiences of nursing managers. Method: This is a qualitative study that investigates the experiences of 11 nursing managers in Shiraz, Iran. Semistructured interviews and thematic analysis were, respectively, applied for data collection and analysis. Results: It could be found from the current investigation that nursing managers have a critical role at the hospitals, and their creativities have more impacts on procedures compared to organizational orders. There are four major challenges faced by nursing managers including nursing shortage, structural deficiencies, lack of authorities, and burnout. Although shortage is considered as the most important challenge, there are more emphasizes on the improvement of their controlling power in order to prevent their fatigue and burnout. Conclusion: This study showed that creativity of nursing managers is the most important factor of system management; also, shortage and deficiencies are recognized as the most significant challenges faced by them. According to the current study, the shortage of nursing staff is the central issue that has to be considered.

The association of leadership styles and nurses well-being: a cross-sectional study in healthcare settings.

INTRODUCTION: the nurses´ perception of their supervisors´ leadership styles has a substantial impact on their well-being. Effective leadership in health care is crucial in improving and enhancing the effectiveness of health care systems. This study aims to assess the leadership styles of nurse leaders as perceived by employees, and to explore the relationship between perceived leadership styles and the quality of life of nurses in Lebanese hospital settings. METHODS: it was a cross-sectional study conducted in 2017 and involved a sample of 250 nurses chosen randomly in eight hospitals. The survey included questions on socio-demographic and health-related characteristics, Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire 5X Short Form, and the Short Form Health Survey-12 V2 (SF-12v2). RESULTS: the managers used enough transformational leadership style, whereas they used fairly often transactional leadership. The Laissez-faire style was adopted from time to time by the managers. Male nurses perceive their managers as transformational significantly more than female nurses (2.94 vs. 2.73; p = 0.05). Transformational leadership style was statistically related to all scales scores of the SF-12v2 (p < 0.001) except the Social Functioning domain (p = 0.42). The transactional leadership style was associated with the Vitality scale scores (p < 0.001). The physical (p < 0.05) and Emotional Role (p < 0.001) and the mental health summary measure (p < 0.05) were lower in persons who perceived the leadership style of their manager as Laissez-faire. CONCLUSION: this study highlights the existence of a positive effect of leadership styles in the wellbeing of nurses, and confirms that nursing management has been identified as a challenge in the Lebanese hospitals.

Managers' support on implementation of maternal guidelines, Limpopo province, South Africa.

BACKGROUND: The report of Saving Mothers indicated a decline of maternal mortality from 12.8% to 12.5% last triennium of 2017. This shows that regardless of availability of national maternal health guidelines, midwives and managers, 25% of maternal deaths were caused by preventable and avoidable factors. As such, support provided by managers is vital in promoting the utilisation of maternal guidelines. OBJECTIVES: The objective was to determine the support offered by managers to midwives during the implementation of maternal health guidelines. METHOD: The study design was cross-sectional descriptive in a quantitative domain. Simple random sampling was used to select 58 operational managers and two maternal managers. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23. Descriptive statistics provided by Microsoft Excel in the form of charts was used to describe data. Pearson's correlation test was used to describe relationships amongst variables. RESULTS: The results revealed that 83.3% respondents indicated a shortage of staff to attend pregnant women. Fifty-six per cent of managers indicated that shortage of material resources contributed to substandard implementation of maternal guidelines. Supervision and monitoring of implementation of maternal guidelines was difficult as indicated by 53.3%, and 63.3% indicated lack of supervision. CONCLUSION: Limited support in terms of monitoring and supervision by managers was strongly indicated as having a negative effect on implementation of maternal guidelines. Capacity building was offered; however, shortage of resources led to poor implementation of maternal guidelines by midwives.

Turnover Intention Among Nurses in Nurse Managers, Directors, and Executives: Developing a Tool for Measuring Environmental Factors.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Turnover among nurse managers, directors, and executives is associated with staff nurse retention and patient outcomes. The purpose of this article is to describe the development of an instrument to evaluate factors associated with intent to leave among these leaders within acute care facilities. METHODS: The Nurse Leader Environment Support Survey (NLESS) was developed and evaluated using exploratory factor analysis and reliability testing (Cronbach's α). Data was obtained as part of a large nationwide electronic survey (N = 1,903). RESULTS: Factors converged into three major themes (organizational culture, professional vulnerability, and workplace relationships) which were consistent across all three leadership groups. Factor subscales exhibited Cronbach's α > .7. CONCLUSIONS: The NLESS is a useful tool in comparing reasons for turnover among nursing leadership groups. Future refinement may prove useful in identifying and clarifying foundational causes of turnover.

Innovative Frontline Nurse Leader Professional Development Program.

Frontline nurse leaders direct staff and unit systems while ensuring that quality, safe patient care is provided. It is unknown if frontline nurse leaders oriented with only on-the-job-training are competent and if a professional development program will improve their competencies. This project's purpose was to measure self-assessed competencies, using the Nurse Manager Inventory Tool, of 38 frontline nurse leaders. This project used a quasi-experimental design and utilized pre- and postsurvey for evaluation purposes of a leadership development curriculum.

Nurse managers experiences of their leadership roles in a specific mining primary healthcare service in the West Rand.

BACKGROUND: Nurse managers are leaders in mining primary healthcare. Their leadership roles include inspiring and empowering operational managers and nursing personnel, by leading with competence developing them to become followers with insight and direction. However, these leadership roles are not clearly defined, and are negatively influenced by the traditional mining leadership style. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to explore and describe the nurse managers' experiences of their leadership roles in a specific mining primary healthcare service on the West Rand, to develop recommendations to enhance these roles. METHOD: A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was used in this study, following a phenomenological approach as a research method. A non-probability purposive sampling method was used. Nurse managers described experiences of their leadership roles during individual phenomenological interviews. Data saturation was reached on participant number 7. To analyse data, four stages of Giorgi's descriptive phenomenological data analysis was used. An independent coder coded the data and a consensus meeting was held. The study was guided by the theoretical framework of Winkler's role theory. RESULTS: The following subthemes emanated from data analysis: (1) leadership role ambiguity, (2) leadership roles experienced and (3) challenges experienced in leadership roles. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that the leadership roles for nurse managers in a specific mining primary healthcare service are not clearly defined. Hence enhancements and expansions of these leadership roles remained stagnant. A clearly defined policy on leadership roles for nurse managers should be developed.

Clinical Nurses' Perceptions of Authentic Nurse Leadership and Healthy Work Environment.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between clinical nurses' perception of the authentic nurse leadership of their manager and their perception of the work environment on their unit. BACKGROUND: Authentic leadership (AL) and healthy work environments contribute to staff engagement and improved patient outcomes. There is limited research linking these 2 variables. METHODS: Two hundred fifty-four clinical nurses at a national conference participated in a cross-sectional, correlational, descriptive study using the Authentic Nurse Leadership Questionnaire and the Critical Elements of a Healthy Work Environment Survey. RESULTS: Overall, nurses rated the authentic nurse leadership of their manager as present most of the time and agreed their work environment was healthy. There was a moderate correlation between AL and healthy work environment. Background variables were not significantly related to nurses' perceptions of the authentic nurse leadership of their manager or their work environment. CONCLUSIONS: This is the 1st study using these authentic nurse leadership and healthy work environment frameworks. In this novel nursing model of AL, caring is an attribute that was valued by frontline nurses. This is a call to action for leadership development at every level using AL principles and for the improvement of lagging domains in nursing work environments, both critically needed during challenging healthcare times and for the ultimate purpose of improving patient and workforce outcomes.

Accent bias: A barrier to Black African-born nurses seeking managerial and faculty positions in the United States.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of Black African-born nurses (BABN) with non-native accents regarding their nursing career advancement in the United States. Data were collected using individual interviews. Fifteen nurses originally from three sub-Saharan African countries were included in the study. The findings were reported under six themes: perceived low level of intelligence, not suitable to lead, making fun of/belittling, prejudging without evidence, downgrading, and accent modification. The finding indicated that participants believed that their race and accent influenced their professional nursing opportunities. These results are relevant to BABNs, nurse educators, and healthcare organization leaders. BABNs are capable of participating in nursing leadership and education despite their non-native accent.

Perceived Managerial Competence of First-Line Nurse Managers: A Comparative Analysis Among Public Hospitals.

Knowing the perceptions of first-line nurse managers (FLNMs) regarding their managerial competence is an important step to resolve disparities between their perceived competence and the competencies required for them to effectively function in their roles. Yet, evidence examining managerial competence of FLNMs among public hospitals in Indonesia is sparse. To fill this gap, we conducted a cross-sectional study aimed to identify managerial competence of FLNMs according to hospital type and ownership. This study was conducted from January to May 2018 and included a convenience sample of 233 FLNMs selected from 13 public hospitals. We used the Indonesian-First-Line Nurse Managers Managerial Competence Scale (I-FLNMMCS) to measure managerial competence. Descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis, and Dunn's Pairwise were used for data analysis. Findings showed a significant difference in managerial competence according to the hospital type (p < .05). The FLNMs with a Diploma III, those relatively older, in their position for 7 or more years, and with managerial training in Type A hospitals (larger hospitals) had the highest managerial competence. The FLNMs with a bachelor's degree, those relatively younger, with less training, and those in their position for 3 to 4 years in Type B and C hospitals (smaller hospitals) had less managerial competence. A significant difference was also found in managerial competence according to hospital ownership (p <.05). Public hospitals owned by the Ministry of Health of Indonesia had the highest competence among the others. This study is useful for guiding future policy work for human resource development in public hospitals.

Social support, role clarity and job satisfaction: a successful combination for nurses.

AIM: To analyse the moderating effect of role clarity on the relationship between social support (supervisor and colleagues) and job satisfaction. BACKGROUND: The social support of supervisors and co-workers and the clarity of roles are important antecedents of job satisfaction. According to the Conservation of Resources theory, the interaction of the instrumental nature of role clarity and social support would result in higher levels of job satisfaction in nursing. METHODS: Through a convenience sample, a final sample of 191 participants (64.92% registered nurses, 35.08% nursing assistants) was obtained from a private hospital complex in Portugal. Hierarchical linear regression models were carried out to check the moderating function of role clarity. RESULTS: Regression models showed the moderating effect of role clarity. Nursing staff with high social support from their supervisors and peers showed higher scores in job satisfaction when role clarity was high. CONCLUSION: An adequate description of roles, through clear and detailed information regarding expected functions, responsibilities and behaviour, allows the effect of social support from supervisors and co-workers on job satisfaction to be stronger. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Strategies such as defining responsibilities, setting clear expectations and role analysis allow a reduction in sources of uncertainty in jobs. Training in communication and feedback skills would improve the social support given by supervisors and colleagues. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING POLICY: Hospital boards and nurse managers should be aware of the importance of clarifying roles, responsibilities, and functions of each professional category and hierarchical level for the provision of adequate quality of care.

Frontline nurse managers' visions for their units: A qualitative study.

AIMS: To elucidate frontline nurse managers' visions of their units. BACKGROUND: Managers have the opportunity to imagine and share their visions for effective unit management. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 frontline nurse managers working at inpatient units in two hospitals between 2016 and 2017. Data were qualitatively analysed using an inductive approach, focusing on participants' intents. RESULTS: Although participants showed four types of difficulties in verbalizing visions, five categories and 18 subcategories were extracted through analysis of their descriptions about actual cases reflecting their visions. The categories were (a) provide excellent care to ensure patient recovery based on reliable knowledge and skills, (b) make efforts to broaden patients' futures, (c) create a climate for pursuing better practice, (d) all staff continuously pursue professional development and (e) provide nursing care that responds to external changes. All categories were common to all participants' images of the future and linked together to form each manager's vision. CONCLUSION: Frontline managers experienced difficulty in articulating their visions. However, through episodes, they represented images of visions. The managers' visions comprised five categories reflecting various perspectives. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Using a conceptualized vision framework, and identifying difficulties in verbalizing their images, can help managers articulate their visions.

Leadership and job satisfaction in the Mobile Emergency Care Service context.

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the correlation between the practice of Coaching Leadership performed by nursing coordinators and job satisfaction, in the self-perception of coordinators and the perception of nursing technicians of the Mobile Emergency Care Service. METHOD: a descriptive, correlational study that used the Questionnaire on Self-Perception of the Nurse in the Exercise of Leadership to measure the self-perception of leadership of the eleven nursing coordinators and the Questionnaire on Nursing Technician Perception in the Exercise of Leadership to verify the perception of 155 nurse technicians. The Job Satisfaction Questionnaire assessed job satisfaction in both categories. Correlations among instrument domains were determined using the Spearman test (p<0.05) and the association was analyzed. RESULTS: the Coaching Leadership exercise correlated with job satisfaction (p-value=0.001), both in the self-perception of nursing coordinators, with high correlation (Spearman coefficient - (0.835), and in the perception of nursing technicians, with moderate association (Spearman coefficient - 0.678). CONCLUSION: coaching Leadership showed a positive correlation with job satisfaction, marked by mutual trust, continuous interaction between nurse and nursing technicians, and the pursuit of professional and personal development.

Influence of toxic and transformational leadership practices on nurses' job satisfaction, job stress, absenteeism and turnover intention: A cross-sectional study.

AIM: This study examined the influence of toxic and transformational leadership practices on nurses' job satisfaction, psychological distress, absenteeism and intent to leave the organisation or the nursing profession. BACKGROUND: Transformational leadership is attributed to favourable nurse consequences; however, the nursing literature is silent regarding the causal association between toxic leadership and nurses' job outcomes. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study involving 770 registered nurses from 15 hospitals in Central Philippines. Data were collected using seven self-report scales during the months of December 2019 to February 2020. RESULTS: The composite scores for the transformational leadership scale and toxic leadership scale were 4.22 and 1.59, respectively. Toxic leadership predicted job satisfaction, absenteeism, psychological distress and intention to leave the profession. Transformational leadership predicted job satisfaction and intent to leave the profession. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that nurses working with a transformational leader report higher job contentment and lower intent to leave the nursing profession. Nurses who work for a manager exhibiting toxic leadership behaviours demonstrated lower job contentment, higher stress levels, frequent absenteeism and higher intent to leave the nursing profession. IMPLICATION FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nurse retention strategies should include measures to foster transformational leadership and derail toxic leadership practices in nurse managers through evidence-based education, training and professional development.

Leadership Styles of Nurse Managers and Turnover Intention.

The shortage of experienced nurses is a concern in health organizations. This study investigated the leadership styles of nurse managers' impact on turnover intention among nurses in hospitals. A descriptive correlational research design was used. Samples of 250 nurses working in five hospitals were selected to complete self-administered questionnaire. Findings show that participatory and transformational leadership styles are predominantly practiced. Correlation analysis revealed that participative and transformational leadership styles decreases turnover intention while autocratic and laissez-faire leadership styles increases turnover intention. Therefore, leadership styles of nurse managers are determinants of nurses' turnover intentions.

A mapping review of clinical nurse leader and nurse educator transitional care skills and competencies.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about how nurses are prepared to participate or lead teams in conducting safe and effective care transitions, despite being a complex process in which the nurse has an integral role. PURPOSE: To conduct mapping review to identify and synthesize key recommendations regarding curriculum content needed to increase Clinical Nurse Leader and Nurse Educator student knowledge and skills regarding transitional care. METHOD: Guidelines for developing the transitional care nurse role published by national accrediting bodies and certification organizations were reviewed to identify the required competencies. FINDINGS: Components identified included: communication; teamwork and collaboration; education and engagement of patient and family; promoting and support for self-management; and assessing/ managing risks/symptoms. CONCLUSION: Research evidence is needed to support academic preparation of nurses as leaders in care transition. The core transitional components identified can be used to develop competencies to assist training efforts of nurses in practice and educational settings.

Development and psychometric testing of the toxic leadership behaviors of nurse managers (ToxBH-NM) scale.

AIM: This paper describes the development and testing of the psychometric property of the Toxic Leadership Behaviors of Nurse Managers (ToxBH-NM) Scale. BACKGROUND: Toxic leadership is growing increasingly pervasive in the field of nursing. However, the current literature lacks comprehensive attempts to explain how toxic leadership disrupts work processes in the field of nursing, a reality confounded in part by the absence of a reliable and a valid scale on which to examine toxic leadership behaviours in nurse managers. METHODS: An exploratory sequential research design was used to formulate and evaluate the psychometric property of ToxBH-NM Scale. The content validity was examined by experts in nursing administration. A sample of 313 nurses from selected hospitals was recruited to assess the scale's reliability and validity. The factor structure of the newly developed scale was determined by exploratory factor analysis (EFA). RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis for ToxBH-NM Scale revealed 30 items loading on four factors. The overall Cronbach's α coefficient of the scale was 0.975, and Cronbach's α coefficient ranged from 0.895 to 0.965 for the four factors. Corrected item-to-total (0.310-0.69) and item-to-item correlations (0.47-0.66) were acceptable. The Scale-content Validity Index was 0.957, and the Item-content Validity Index ranged from 0.833 to 1.000. The test-retest reliability coefficient of ToxBH-NM Scale was 0.801, with a reliability coefficient that ranged from 0.745 to 0.911 for the four factors. The four factors explained 71.84% of the observed variance. CONCLUSIONS: ToxBH-NM Scale shows good psychometric properties and can be used to evaluate toxic leadership behaviours among nurse managers. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: The use of ToxBH-NM Scale can aid nurse managers in better understanding and managing their own leadership behaviours within their organisations and in fostering desirable work outcomes among employees, a positive work climate and overall organisational success.