Qualities of exemplary nurse leaders: perspectives of frontline nurses

Abstract

The findings are of significance to leaders in the health care system and in the nursing profession who are in a position to foster development of leaders to mentor and encourage frontline nurses.

Experiential meaning of a decent quality of work life for nurse managers in a university hospital

“…Our findings also show that NMs who use different knowhow in nursing management, based on evidence or best practices, bring a sense of motivation and achievement to the workplace. [65][66][67][68][69][70] In this regard, our results are in line with those reported by Mackoff, Glassman, and Budin [66] in their qualitative participatory action study with 43 NMs that examined the development of a learning laboratory based on knowledge and experiences. Their results indicated that a learning culture within the healthcare organization offered learning activities addressing the needs of NMs.…”

“…These activities remain a prerequisite for role transition and enhance novice's attraction and retention. This is confirmed, also, by Anonson et al [70] in their works on transformational mentoring. According to Kelly, Wricker and Gerkins, [71] Mayrand Leclerc, [72] Shiparski and Authier, [73] mentorship programs would better prepare NMs and give them the required boost to meet economic and humanistic requirements and learn to use new technologies.…”

“…This can encourage professional development and guide nurses in their career advancement by imparting a better understanding of the NM's role. [69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77] Overall, the results of our study showed the importance of supporting nurses wishing to begin a career in nursing management. The interviewed NMs in our study clearly stated that, in order for NMs to meet the new requirements of their role within the healthcare system, policymakers and senior management needed to provide significant support.…”

“…To this end, it would appear relevant for them to establish a structured personalized support program that includes ongoing training, mentoring geared to fostering the development and maintenance of expertise in nursing management. [3,[70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77] …”

The reforming appeal of distributed leadership

“…The values and practices of supportive leaders seem to be widely appreciated within nursing communities, with the personal morality and reflective behaviour of senior figures linked to constructive employee relations (Cleary et al, 2011;Eneh and Vehvilainen-Julkunen, 2012;Anonson et al, 2014;Wing et al, 2015). Endorsements were usually qualified, however, with nurses magnifying the limits placed on their own autonomy and the difficulties confronting leaders who try to sustain a permissive approach (Haycock-Stuart and Kean, 2013).…”