Division of Tropical Health and Medicine, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, I Building 41 I Room 114, 1 James Cook Drive Townsville QLD, 4811, Douglas, Australia.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2022 May 18;22(1):667. doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-08049-4.
With increasing recognition of the quality and safety issues in residential aged care, there is an urgent need to better understand what skills senior managers require to deliver on the spectrum of leadership functions in residential aged care facilities. This qualitative study sought to explore the leadership skills that positively influence the quality of care within Australian residential aged care facilities and better understand the professional development needs of senior managers to positively influence care within these complex environments.
We conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 senior managers purposively recruited from 14 high-performing non-government residential aged care facilities of varying geographical remoteness in northern Queensland, Australia. Participants held a range of professional roles, including Chief Executive Officer, Director of Nursing and Facility Manager, and had various professional qualifications. We used inductive thematic analysis to identify and categorise senior managers' perspectives on the leadership skills and related strategies to promote quality of care.
Senior managers reported leadership skills in five major domains: i) communication and relationship management, ii) stewardship, iii) professional development, iv) health care knowledge and v) information technology and finance. Most participants highlighted communication and relationship management skills and responding to regulatory change as influential to residential aged care quality performance. Participants with different professional backgrounds often emphasised different skills.
Participants identified a broad range of skills and strategies required by senior managers in Australian residential aged care facilities. Identifying different skills by differently trained individuals suggests more work is needed to understand and develop sector-specific professional development approaches to better prepare individuals to lead in this complex service environment.
随着人们对住宅养老服务质量和安全问题认识的提高，迫切需要更好地了解高级管理人员需要具备哪些技能，以履行住宅养老设施领导职能的各个方面。这项定性研究旨在探讨积极影响澳大利亚住宅养老设施内护理质量的领导技能，并更好地了解高级管理人员的专业发展需求，以积极影响这些复杂环境中的护理工作。
我们对来自澳大利亚昆士兰州北部 14 个不同地理位置的 19 名高级管理人员进行了半结构化访谈，这些高级管理人员是从 14 个表现出色的非政府住宅养老机构中精心挑选出来的。参与者担任各种专业角色，包括首席执行官、护理主任和设施经理，并具有各种专业资格。我们使用归纳主题分析来确定和分类高级管理人员对领导技能和相关策略的看法，以促进护理质量。
高级管理人员报告了五个主要领域的领导技能：i）沟通和关系管理，ii）管理，iii）专业发展，iv）医疗保健知识和 v）信息技术和财务。大多数参与者强调沟通和关系管理技能以及对监管变化的响应对住宅养老护理质量表现的影响。具有不同专业背景的参与者经常强调不同的技能。
参与者确定了澳大利亚住宅养老服务机构高级管理人员所需的广泛技能和策略。不同培训背景的人识别出不同的技能，这表明需要做更多的工作来理解和制定特定于部门的专业发展方法，以使个人更好地为领导这一复杂的服务环境做好准备。
