University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
J Healthc Manag. 2023;68(3):158-173. doi: 10.1097/JHM-D-22-00191.
Span of control is a multidimensional concept requiring a comprehensive definition that captures the complexities of the nurse manager's role in acute care settings. This concept analysis aimed to identify factors associated with span of control and provide a comprehensive definition outlining the breadth of this concept.
ProQuest, PubMed, and Scopus databases were used to search peer-reviewed literature addressing the span of control in acute care nurse management. The search produced 185 articles; 177 titles and abstracts were screened for eligibility. Data from 22 articles were included in this analysis.
This analysis includes antecedents, attributes, and consequences of expanded nurse manager spans of control. Work-related factors such as staff and manager experience levels, work complexity, and patient acuity are attributes of a nurse manager's span of control. Our findings suggest that expanded spans of control can have negative consequences on nurse managers such as role overload and burnout. Low satisfaction among staff and patients can result from excessive spans of control.
An awareness of span of control can promote sustainable nursing practices by improving workplace conditions, staff satisfaction, and patient care quality. Our findings may translate across other health disciplines and thus contribute to scientific knowledge that can support changes in job designs and encourage more manageable workloads.
控制幅度是一个多维概念，需要一个全面的定义来捕捉到急性护理环境中护士长角色的复杂性。本概念分析旨在确定与控制幅度相关的因素，并提供一个全面的定义，概述这一概念的广度。
使用 ProQuest、PubMed 和 Scopus 数据库搜索了涉及急性护理护士管理中控制幅度的同行评审文献。该搜索产生了 185 篇文章；筛选了 177 篇标题和摘要以确定其是否符合条件。本分析纳入了 22 篇文章的数据。
本分析包括扩大护士长控制幅度的前因、属性和后果。与工作相关的因素，如员工和经理的经验水平、工作复杂性和患者病情严重程度，是护士长控制幅度的属性。我们的研究结果表明，扩大的控制幅度可能对护士长产生负面影响，如角色过载和倦怠。过度的控制幅度会导致员工和患者满意度降低。
对控制幅度的认识可以通过改善工作条件、提高员工满意度和提高患者护理质量来促进可持续的护理实践。我们的研究结果可能适用于其他卫生学科，从而为支持工作设计的改变和鼓励更易于管理的工作量的科学知识做出贡献。
