Research in nursing administration: a neglected issue

Service and scholarship: an evolutionary examination of nursing administration

This article characterizes the evolution and impact of nursing administration scholarship on administrative practice over the past several decades. Through a critical examination of the literature, this article (1) uncovers how the evolution of nursing scholarship has influenced administrative practice over time; (2) articulates a current conceptualization of nursing administration by describing the responsibilities, necessary expertise, and challenges that characterize the work of nurse administrators (NAs); and (3) reflects on these findings to raise questions about how to further cultivate synergistic relationships between nursing science and administrative practice in the future. This synthesis of the literature revealed that partnerships between service and scholarship have been at the heart of advancing administrative education and practice for many years. While the major responsibilities of NAs have not changed significantly over the past several decades, the concepts and measures NAs employ have evolved. Nursing scholarship has refined terminology and developed measures that have changed the ways in which NAs approach their responsibilities and conceptualize their practice. These developments have furthered nurse scholars' efforts to conduct research pertinent to administrative practice. Still, there are many issues left to be explored, and the opportunities for advancing the science in this domain of nursing practice are vast.

Reflections on the art and science of perianesthesia nursing

The 21 words that form the basis for this article were selected because they convey the art and science of perianesthesia nursing practice, place perianesthesia nursing in both a national and global context, and facilitate reflection about this specialty practice. Reflection can lead to affirmation or change and perhaps even a design for the future.

Suggestions for Graduate Education in Nursing Service Administration

The study was prompted by a long-standing concern about how best to educate nurse administrators for work in complex health service organizations. In the last decade, there has been increasingly widespread agreement in nursing that advanced education for clinical specialization alone may be insufficient. To improve understanding of education for nursing administration (NA), the suggestions in 37 publications printed between 1976 and 1985 were analyzed. Inferences were made from these publications about curriculum content, program structure, instructional placement, and practicum experiences. Content suggested most often pertained to health systems, nursing practice, research, and policy. Reference was least often made to perspectives in organization theory, ethics, and future studies. Suggestions for international NA were made in only one publication. Administration majors with a clinical nursing emphasis in multidisciplinary programs controlled by schools of nursing were widely recommended, as were administrative practicums of variable length. Few suggestions were made about the epistemological considerations needed to guide the development of interdisciplinary nursing administration. In the future, consideration of the overlap--from nursing and management science--of concepts, research problems, and modes of inquiry, will be important for the education of nurse administrators. In the 1960s and early 1970s, clinical specialization was the central focus of graduate nursing education. During this period of time, emphasis on nursing administration (NA) declined, as did the number of NA programs, resulting in a critical shortage of nurse administrators academically prepared to manage health services (Blair, 1976a-b).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The Relationship of Nursing Deans' Leadership Behaviors With Institutional Characteristics

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between the leadership behaviors of nursing deans and selected organizational variables in baccalaureate and higher degree nursing programs in the United States. The sample consisted of 170 deans who provided data on their self-perceived leadership behaviors as measured by the Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire and on institutional characteristics of both their nursing programs and parent institutions. Using correlation and analysis of variance, a significant relationship was found between the leadership dimension of Consideration and faculty expertise. Significant relationships were also found between the dimension of Initiating Structure and the nursing program variables of faculty expertise and educational task and the parent institution variables of control, educational task, and size. This study proposes that organizational variables should be included in leadership theory for nursing academic administrators.