Competencies of Nurse Managers in Slovenia: A Qualitative and Quantitative Study

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the study is to identify nurse managers' competencies in Slovenia regarding various healthcare organisations, public and private healthcare sectors, and management levels, as well as the reasons for their differences. Design: The study was based on quantitative and qualitative research. Methods: An online survey was conducted among 297 nurse managers in Slovenia, and in-depth interviews with 12 nurse managers were carried out. Results: Managers who worked in nursing homes were significantly more likely to perceive themselves as being more competent in leadership (p = 0.001) and financial management (p = 0.004) than their colleagues. Managers who had higher management positions were significantly more likely to perceive themselves as being more competent in financial management than their colleagues in lower management positions (p = 0.002). Nurse managers in the private sector perceived themselves to be significantly more competent in financial management (p = 0.0001). The reasons for nurse managers' differences in proficiency levels are the degree of job security, and degree of autonomy and support in the healthcare team. Conclusion: The study identified inadequate nurse manager competencies, and reflected the needs of nurse managers for designing and providing health management programmes aimed at enhancing management capacity in the health sector in Slovenia.

Financial competencies as investigated in the nursing field: Findings of a scoping review

“…The remaining six did not specify the design (e.g., Davis, 2005 ). Multiple research phases were performed by three studies involving different participants, such as that conducted by Erjavec and Starc ( 2017 ) (first phase 297 nurse managers and second phase 12), by Lim and Noh ( 2015 ) (11 nurses and 12 experts) and by Brydges et al ( 2019 ) (178 and 10 nurse executive leaders).…”

“…The increased sustainability concerns, productivity expectations and economic pressure applied to the entire health care sector regardless of whether based on tax, social insurance or market (Erjavec & Starc, 2017 ) and consequently, on the whole nursing system, have been underlined as being at the merit of specific actions by 2020 (Scoble & Russell, 2003 ). From their side, clinical nurses undertake several decisions daily, and these may have different cost‐effective impact.…”

Business acumen for nursing leaders: An exploratory qualitative study

“…The second context was about clinicians only being concerned of costs and wastage when items were directly billed to the patient, compared with when the system just covered these costs (participants 014 and 023). In both cases, broader business awareness across the broader team would likely influence better business decisions in the clinical environment (Erjavec & Starc, 2017; McFarlan, 2020; Neu, 2017; Nghe et al, 2020). The value of understanding how all these parts fit together in health appears to be highly beneficial.…”

“…Many studies noted the value and benefit of business skills, such as the studies by Klarare et al (2020), Ozturk et al (2020) and Nghe et al (2020), who all noted strengths of different leadership competencies. Some studies acknowledged the variation of expertise for nurses transitioning to or functioning in leadership roles such as the studies by Brydges et al (2019) and Erjavec and Starc (2017). However, few studies discussed challenges to the need and value of passively accessing foundation business education throughout one's clinical career or applying these skills as nurse leaders across health systems.…”

Leadership competencies of first-line nurse managers: a quantitative study

“…They are also in charge of building and maintaining healthy and safe working environments, which has a positive impact on both staff and patient outcomes and reduces mortality rates in all health care systems (Alomairi et al , 2018). This significant position is characterized by varying degrees of rigor and scope (Erjavec and Starc, 2017), which require FLNMs to possess the requisite leadership competencies to ensure efficiency and effectiveness at the unit.…”