An exploration of personal initiative theory in the role of consultant nurses

Abstract

The aim in this paper is to investigate the contribution personal initiative theory makes in understanding the consultant nurse role. The role was introduced in the UK in 2000 to improve patient outcomes, clinical leadership and retention of experienced clinicians. A larger study used a multi-method approach to collect quantitative and qualitative data from focus groups, interviews and a questionnaire administered nationally at two time points. Findings from longitudinal telephone interviews with 30 consultant nurses are the focus of this paper.Three consultant nurses were selected as case studies to examine the potential of personal initiative theory when applied to new nursing roles. The activities of two of the three demonstrated a high level of personal initiative in the job. They persisted in overcoming problems faced in improving practice. The third scored lower: she emerged as a reactive conformist and less likely than the other two to pursue initiatives of her own.Personal initiative theory has potential as a framework for evaluating the consultant nurse role, although further research is needed to test it. The longitudinal analysis revealed a determination to stay in the job and overcome difficult challenges when consultants show initiative and are making progress in achieving change.

The contribution of nurse consultants in England to the public health leadership agenda

“…Humphreys et al (2010) in a study assessing the impact of nurse consultants suggest that capturing the impact, complexity and diversity of the role is possible yet problematic. Redfern et al (2010) in an exploratory study highlighted the significance of personal initiative on effective practice, whilst Gerrish et al (2011b) in a cross-sectional survey of 855 ANPs in England found that these nurses used different sources of evidence, had a positive influence on front-line nursing practice and were well placed as clinical leaders to promote evidence-based practice. Similarly, an evaluation of the role of the nurse consultant by Gavin-Daley and Mullen (2010) found that nurse and other nonmedical consultants impacted positively on service delivery, quality, training and education, adding value to innovation, income generation and sharing best practice.…”

“…Redfern et al . () in an exploratory study highlighted the significance of personal initiative on effective practice, whilst Gerrish et al . () in a cross‐sectional survey of 855 ANPs in England found that these nurses used different sources of evidence, had a positive influence on front‐line nursing practice and were well placed as clinical leaders to promote evidence‐based practice.…”

Sustaining innovation in the health care workforce: A case study of community nurse consultant posts in England

“…Recent [ 24 , 36 ] and earlier literature investigating the nurse consultant innovation has focused on the individual nurses rather than the organisational context although early evaluations noted the role confusion and ambiguity [ 19 , 21 ]. This study provides insights over time from the organisational perspective of nurse consultants as a workforce innovation that has not been provided before.…”

Transformational Leadership on Employee Creativity in Five-Star Hotels in Sri Lanka: Moderating Role of Personal Initiatives

“…Frese et al (1996) explained personal initiative as 'an individual level behaviour syndrome (a set of co-occurring behaviours) giving outcomes in an individual's taking an active and self-starting approach to work and going beyond what is formally needed in a given job'. There is a disparity with traditional non-active performance views that are taking into account considering employee-job matching, defining tasks, and assessing employees' performance against goals evolved by the organisation (Frese and Fay, 2001) employees with high personal initiative go beyond their job description and adopt a self-starting manner in par with organisational missions and objectives (Redfern et al 2010;Stroppa and Spieb, 2011). The personal initiative was initially classified based on five facets by Frese et al (1996) namely: 'persistent with organisational missions, long-term orientation, goal-directed and actionoriented, consistent in the face of barriers and problems, proactive and selfstarting'.…”