School of Nursing, The University of the West Indies at St Augustine, Saint Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.
Pan American Health Organization Trinidad and Tobago, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
Leadersh Health Serv (Bradf Engl). 2021 Aug 4;ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). doi: 10.1108/LHS-03-2021-0014.
Nurses are a significant part of the professional workforce, but leaders may be promoted without the requisite competencies. This study aims to explore the perspectives of nurse managers about the core competencies necessary for promotion as leaders in health.
DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: This was a mixed-methods study that targeted nurses ( = 126) who were promoted in four Caribbean countries over the past five years. A 30-item questionnaire was used for quantitative data collection and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Interviews yielded the qualitative data, which were analyzed using open coding and thematic analysis. Ethical approvals were received from ethics committees at the university and country level.
Most participants were female ( = 112), had 15 or more years' experience ( = 71) and an associate degree/diploma in nursing ( = 62). Leadership was the most important competency required of nurse leaders in spite of their position within the organization, followed by team building and motivation. Challenges to the transitioning into leadership positions included the prevailing culture and a lack of a systematic approach to building capacity in leadership. There was also between-group statistical significance, as determined by one-way ANOVA for delegation, motivation and leadership as core competencies based on occupations roles.
RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Notwithstanding the importance of the findings from this research, there were some limitations. While the researchers considered implementing this study in eight Caribbean countries, approvals were received for only four countries. This will affect the ability to generalize the findings to the wider Caribbean countries. One of the strengths of this research was the use of mixed methods for data collection. However, the qualitative component of the findings may be limited by the number of focus groups conducted, notwithstanding the richness of the data collected.
The findings can be used as a framework from which the health system in developing countries can begin to examine practical solutions to developing 21st century leadership competencies in nursing. While there may be remanence of the colonial past in the way systems function, the complexity of health systems requires leadership that is rooted in competence that is multidimensional.
ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This paper provides an important contribution to the literature on leadership and competencies from the perspective of low- to middle-income resource settings. The qualitative component of the research added richness to the nuances and understanding of the phenomenon of competencies for nurse leaders.
护士是专业劳动力中的重要组成部分，但领导者可能在没有必要能力的情况下得到晋升。本研究旨在探讨护士长对作为卫生保健领域领导者所需的核心能力的看法。
设计/方法/方法：这是一项混合方法研究，针对过去五年在四个加勒比国家晋升的 126 名护士。使用了 30 项问卷进行定量数据收集，并使用 SPSS 版本 25 进行分析。访谈产生了定性数据，使用开放式编码和主题分析进行分析。该研究获得了大学和国家伦理委员会的伦理批准。
大多数参与者是女性（ = 112），有 15 年或以上的工作经验（ = 71），并持有护理副学士/文凭（ = 62）。领导力是护士长最重要的领导能力要求，尽管他们在组织内的职位不同，但团队建设和激励紧随其后。向领导岗位过渡的挑战包括占主导地位的文化以及缺乏系统的领导力能力建设方法。根据职业角色，单向方差分析也显示了分组间的统计学意义，因为授权、激励和领导力被确定为核心能力。
研究限制/影响：尽管这项研究的结果很重要，但仍存在一些限制。虽然研究人员考虑在八个加勒比国家实施这项研究，但只获得了四个国家的批准。这将影响将研究结果推广到更广泛的加勒比国家的能力。这项研究的一个优势是使用混合方法收集数据。然而，定性部分的结果可能受到所进行的焦点小组数量的限制，尽管收集的数据很丰富。
研究结果可以作为一个框架，发展中国家的卫生系统可以从这个框架开始，审视在护理中发展 21 世纪领导能力的实际解决方案。尽管系统运作方式可能仍然存在殖民时代的遗留问题，但卫生系统的复杂性需要扎根于多维能力的领导。
原创性/价值：本文从低中收入资源环境的角度为领导力和能力文献提供了重要贡献。研究的定性部分增加了对护士长能力现象的细微差别和理解的丰富性。
