Operating room nurse managers--competence and beyond.

Operating room nurse managers supervise and direct a complex, highly technical, and expensive organization. To be successful, they must possess certain competencies or skills that have not been studied extensively. A replication of one study was conducted to determine which competencies characterize OR nurse managers who are considered competent and superior. The randomly selected, national sample comprised OR nurse managers who completed an Operating Room Nurse Manager Questionnaire. Analysis of 120 useable questionnaires revealed that human and leadership competencies were valued most and conceptual and technical competencies were valued least in OR nurse managers.