Nursing Management (Harrow)

Nurses have to be aware of their personal responsibility to demonstrate effective leadership and thereby contribute to safe and effective patient care. One of the primary skills that nurses can use to become effective leaders is communication. This article explores how communication is a vital tool in enabling nurse leaders to motivate their team members and advocate for patients. The author details some of the essential communication skills that nurses require if they are to promote person-centred care and explores the often-neglected areas of non-verbal and written communication...

BACKGROUND: There is increasing research interest in the relationship between ethical leadership and deviant workplace behaviour. Ethical leadership encompasses altruism, courage, ethical orientation, integrity and fairness. Examples of deviant workplace behaviours include theft, fraud, sabotage, assault, abuse, manipulation and bullying. It appears that when leaders are fair and emphasise ethical conduct, followers are less inclined to engage in deviant workplace behaviour. AIM: To investigate the relationship between nurses' self-rated levels of deviant workplace behaviour and perceived levels of ethical leadership in managers...

There is growing evidence that clinical research activity is linked to better patient outcomes and that staff involvement in research is linked to enhanced morale and retention. Clinical managers have a pivotal role in supporting staff to engage with research, but they are not always given the means to do so and are not always aware of the benefits. In 2021 a research internship scheme was set up as a collaboration between two London NHS trusts and a university, enabling nurses and midwives to undergo training and undertake a range of research activities...

BACKGROUND: Nurse ward managers have a crucial role in the effective functioning of hospital wards and in organising the work of the nursing team. The Balanced Scorecard model is a management framework that enables strategy to be translated into action by setting goals that lead to measurable outcomes. Few studies have used the Balanced Scorecard model to map the competencies of healthcare professionals. AIM: To use the Balanced Scorecard model to map the core competencies of nurse ward managers and determine relevant key performance areas (KPAs) and key performance indicators (KPIs)...

Behaviour towards colleagues within the nursing team that undermines teamwork and conflicts with standards and policies can be described as problematic. It is important that nurse managers understand and investigate potential problematic behaviour towards colleagues, particularly in today's healthcare environment where team cohesion and morale are constantly under threat. In this article, the author highlights the challenges for nurse managers and describes the sensitive and respectful exploratory process they need to undertake...

BACKGROUND: Nurses are a crucial part of healthcare organisations, constituting around half of the global healthcare workforce. Therefore, it is important to examine the factors that may affect their job performance, which is central to the delivery of effective healthcare services. AIM: To examine the relationships between stress, resilience and job performance within the nursing context in Jordan. METHOD: A cross-sectional descriptive correlational design was used...

A digitally literate nursing workforce can support the delivery of safe, effective care and improve patient outcomes. However, digital literacy among nurses is variable. Electronic patient records (EPRs), which require the digital documentation of all patient encounters, can be used to generate data that will inform strategies to improve patient care and patient safety. Nurse leaders at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust acknowledged that although ward nurses were providing excellent patient care, there were gaps in their digital documentation of that care...

Undertaking a master's degree has become an integral part of nurses' continuing professional development. However, there can be uncertainty among nurses about the requirements and expectations of this level of education, and about the benefits for patients and nurses. This article describes the main characteristics of master's degree programmes and the expectations of master's students. It also explores the literature on the benefits of a master's degree in relation to patient outcomes, nurses' clinical competence and professional autonomy and nurses' career development...

BACKGROUND: An increasing number of apprentice nursing associates undertake their home placement in primary care or social care, but there is limited understanding of apprentice nursing associates' experiences in these settings. AIM: To explore apprentice nursing associates' experiences of a home placement in primary care or social care and provide initial insight into what may support or hinder their professional development in these settings. METHOD: A mixed-methods study design was used with qualitative interviews complemented by a quantitative survey...

Effective nursing leadership has been shown to improve patient outcomes, but there has been little exploration of the factors that influence early career nurses to develop their leadership skills and adopt leadership roles. This article presents a rapid review of the literature on these factors, integrating data from 25 articles. Findings suggest that improving leadership confidence and self-efficacy, particularly in relation to system leadership, can increase nurses' motivation for adopting leadership roles...

BACKGROUND: Digital technology has an increasing role in healthcare, but staff lack opportunities to develop their digital skills and there is a lack of research on education and training in digital technology for staff. AIM: To explore nurses' perceptions of the use of digital technology in their practice and to identify the digital skills required by newly registered nurses to work in a digitally enabled environment. METHOD: Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted on an online communication platform with nine participants - four newly registered nurses and five senior nurses working in clinical and/or management roles...

BACKGROUND: There are increasing numbers of international students applying for preregistration nursing courses in the UK. Encouraging overseas students to study nursing in the UK has potential benefits for the profession, but practice assessors and practice supervisors may face challenges when supporting international students during placements. AIM: To explore the experiences of practice assessors and practice supervisors in facilitating international preregistration nursing students' learning during placements...

Small group teaching sessions are commonly used in healthcare to deliver education, provide practice updates and support continuing professional development. Such sessions can provide opportunities for participants to acquire new knowledge, foster peer relationships, consolidate learning and develop skills. This article provides a step-by-step guide for nurses and other healthcare professionals on designing and delivering a small group teaching session. • A small group teaching session requires considered, detailed and methodical preparation...

A nursing degree apprenticeship offers an alternative route into nursing from the traditional preregistration nurse education programme by enabling apprentice employees to work and study at the same time. This route could address some of the issues associated with attrition from preregistration nurse education programmes, such as financial challenges. However, nursing degree apprentices may experience other challenges, for example suboptimal work-life-study balance and inadequate support from employers and higher education institutions (HEIs), resulting in dissatisfaction with or non-completion of their apprenticeship programme...

Innovation, creativity and leadership in nursing are essential to meet healthcare's constantly growing demands and to improve health and well-being. However, improvement initiatives require leadership and innovation support to make a positive impact ( Knol and van Linge 2009 ).

Schwartz rounds are a group-based model of reflective practice originally designed to assist medical staff to develop more compassion in their care. The aim of Schwartz rounds is to help healthcare professionals such as nurses 'reconnect' with why they first entered the caring profession. • Schwartz rounds are designed to assist multidisciplinary healthcare professionals with the emotional, social and ethical aspects of caregiving. • Schwartz rounds can also be used to support resilience training and boost workforce morale...

Nurse managers in charge of a post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) face the task of optimising staffing levels and must be able to justify staffing needs to the wider operational team. The high variability in patient numbers and acuity that characterises the PACU, as well as the broader factors that affect patient flow to and from the PACU, make it challenging to quantify staffing requirements. Staffing models often fail to reflect accurately the needs of patients and therefore the needs of the unit and there is no recommended model for quantifying PACU staffing requirements...

BACKGROUND: Nurses' job satisfaction is a crucial component of a safe and efficient healthcare environment. AIM: To understand the level of job satisfaction among migrant nurses working in intensive and critical care in Saudi Arabia. METHOD: This study used a quantitative descriptive design. A total of 421 migrant nurses working in intensive and critical care units in two teaching hospitals in Saudi Arabia completed a questionnaire based on the McCloskey/Mueller Satisfaction Scale...

Effective talent management is vital to retain skilled and experienced nurses and midwives in the NHS. In 2019, a group of NHS organisations in London set up a talent management support network (TMSN) aimed at helping specific groups of nurses and midwives facing challenges in fulfilling their professional potential. The network started by supporting nurses and midwives from minority ethnic backgrounds, later also offering the programme to dental nurses across England and to healthcare workers in Brazil. The network uses the power of action learning and networking in a framework that nurtures staff's talents...

BACKGROUND: Patient safety is a priority for all healthcare organisations. Enhancing patient safety incident reporting practices requires effective leadership behaviours at all levels in healthcare organisations. AIM: To explore nurses' perceptions of the influence of nurse managers' leadership behaviours and organisational culture on patient safety incident reporting practices. METHOD: A descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational design was adopted with a convenience sample of 325 nurses from 15 Jordanian hospitals...