OBJECTIVE The purpose of this scoping study is to review the published evidence regarding staff nurses' perceptions of nurse manager caring behaviors. BACKGROUND As healthcare administration becomes more complex and financial challenges continue, the ability of nurse managers to lead patient care environments that produce desirable outcomes becomes critical. Demonstrating caring behaviors that build relationships with individuals and groups is a necessary competency of nursing administrators to advance healthcare. METHODS This scoping study was guided by Arksey and O′Malley's methodology to review existing literature. RESULTS Published literature provided knowledge of staff nurses' perceptions of nurse manager caring behaviors. The final sample was 13 publications. The results were summarized in both numeric and thematic analysis. CONCLUSIONS Further research is needed to explore the relationship between nurse manager caring behaviors and patient outcomes.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between staff nurses' perceptions of nurse manager caring behaviors and patient experience. BACKGROUND Despite numerous interventions aimed at changing the provision of patient care to improve care quality, patient experience scores have remained moderate. Little research has been conducted exploring how caring relationships in the professional practice environment might play a role in the patient experience of care. METHODS A cross-sectional, correlational design was used to examine the relationship between staff nurses' perceptions of nurse manager caring behaviors as measured by the Caring Assessment Tool–Administration (CAT-Adm) and acute-care patient experience using the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores. RESULTS There was a positive relationship between the staff nurses' perceptions of nurse manager caring behaviors and patients' HCAHPS overall hospital rating. There also was a positive relationship between the CAT-Adm scores and nurse manager visibility. CONCLUSION Departments had higher HCAHPS overall hospital rating when the staff nurses perceived their unit manager as caring. In addition, the more staff nurses actually visualized their nurse manager during a shift, the more they perceived their nurse manager as caring.