Leadership of PhD-prepared nurses working in hospitals and its influence on career development: A qualitative study

The role of healthcare leaders in implementing equitable clinical academic pathways for nurses: An integrative review

AIM

To identify and synthesize empirical evidence on the role of healthcare leaders in the development of equitable clinical academic pathways for nurses.

DESIGN

Integrative literature review.

DATA SOURCES

Literature was searched using CINAHL, PubMed, ProQuest and Google Scholar databases.

REVIEW METHODS

A total of 114 eligible articles published between 2010 and2022 were screened, 16 papers were selected.

RESULTS

Results highlighted the need for consistent national, regional, and organizational policy approaches to developing clinical academic careers for nurses. Government health departments and National Health boards must focus on increasing engagement in research and evidence-based nursing practice for high-quality patient care. Discriminatory practices and attitudes were identified as barriers. Discrimination due to gender was evident, while the impact of race, ethnicity, and other social categories of identity are under-researched. Educational leaders must unravel misconceptions about research, highlighting its relevance to patient care and bedside nurses' work. Academic leaders together with executive nurses, research funders and professional nursing bodies must create appropriately remunerated career structures. Transformative approaches are required to develop the clinical academic nurse role and understand its value in clinical practice.

CONCLUSION

Multiple elements exist within complex systems that healthcare leaders can navigate collaboratively to develop and implement clinical nurse academic roles. This requires vision, acknowledgement of the value of nursing research and the importance of evidence-based research infrastructures.

IMPACT

Findings highlight the collaborative role of healthcare leaders as critical to the success of critical academic careers for nurses. This review can inform those still to formalize this innovative role for nurses.

REPORTING METHOD

The review complies with the PRISMA guidelines for reporting systematic reviews. This paper contributes evidence about the healthcare leader's role in developing clinical academic pathways for nurses to the wider global clinical community.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contribution was included in this review.

Understanding the Impact of the Nurse Manager's Vocation for Leadership on the Healthcare Workplace Environments in Mexico: A Grounded Theory Approach

BACKGROUND

Leadership in any managerial position that a nurse may hold appears to be closely connected to fostering positive and productive work environments within healthcare settings. However, not all nurse managers are characterized by leadership, and not all nurse leaders are nurse managers. In countries, such as Mexico, those who occupy these roles have barely sufficient training in management, are mainly characterized by their experience in one clinical specialty and their vocation for leadership is not a requirement. Our study aims to understand how the leadership vocation that some nurse managers have in their daily practice could impact the work environments of healthcare organizations in Mexico.

METHODS

A qualitative design was carried out through a grounded theory approach based on Corbin & Strauss, interviewing individually 13 nurse managers with representative experience in Mexican public sector hospitals.

RESULTS

According to the interviewees, the meaning of vocation is based mainly on the love for their profession, on the vocation of being a nurse and caring for people, as well as on the development of their own natural leadership potential for decision-making in practice. This situation produces positive feedback on themselves by generating productive effects in the work environment, consequently strengthening them to better organize professional resources and therefore producing improvements.

CONCLUSIONS

The nurse manager's vocation of leadership derives from both the vocation of being a practicing nurse and the vocation for being a leader, positively impacting and productively contributing to the improvement of the work environment. Consequently, nurse managers with vocation for leadership should be the gold standard role in any healthcare organization. This study was retrospectively registered with the (registros-OSF-bmyvz-v1) on the (26 July 2023) registration number (10.17605/OSF.IO/BMYVZ).

Career development of doctorally prepared nurses

AIM

To integrate research literature regarding careers, career development and factors influencing the career development of doctorally prepared nurses.

DESIGN

An integrative review.

DATA SOURCES

Medline, CINAHL and Embase were searched in June 2022 without time restrictions.

METHODS

Peer-reviewed empirical publications written in English with different types of study designs were included. Two researchers independently applied eligibility criteria, selected studies and conducted quality appraisals using Joanna Briggs checklists. Data were extracted and analysed using a convergent integrated approach with thematic analysis. Themes were established within three categories based on the research questions: career, career development and factors influencing career development.

RESULTS

Twenty-two studies were included. Nine themes were identified. One theme regarding careers describes that doctorally prepared nurses need to prioritize work within different positions. The two themes focusing on career development described the need to determine career goals after the doctorate and further develop competencies. Six themes described factors influencing career development: 'Intrinsic motivation to improve health care and nursing education', 'Available support sources', 'Professional development programmes', 'Work-life balance', 'Organizational infrastructures for career advancement' and 'Competition and hostile treatment among colleagues'.

CONCLUSION

Limited knowledge of the careers and career development of doctorally prepared nurses was found. Doctorally prepared nurses need to balance work with various part-time positions. Careers and career development could be supported by the development of structures for career advancement as well as supportive working environments.

IMPACT

Doctorally prepared nurses with strong careers are important to health care and nursing as they generate and implement new knowledge into clinical practice and thereby support the improvement of (nursing) care and patient outcomes. This study provides considerations towards strengthening the careers of doctorally prepared nurses.

REPORTING METHOD

PRISMA.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No Patient or Public Contribution.

Improved professional competencies and leadership in PhD-prepared nurses and doctoral students after participating in the cross-national and web-based Nurse-Lead program

BACKGROUND

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)-prepared nurses are expected to exercise leadership in their various roles. Therefore, European nurse scholars developed a cross-national web-based Nursing Leadership and Mentoring Educational (Nurse-Lead) program.

PURPOSE

To evaluate changes in leadership practices, professional and research competencies as well as career development of PhD-prepared nurses and doctoral nursing students after participation in the Nurse-Lead program.

METHODS

A pre-post-test evaluation was conducted. Surveys addressed leadership, professional and research competencies, and career development. Quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and paired sample t-tests. Content analysis was used for qualitative data.

DISCUSSION

The 30 participants showed significant improvements in all leadership practices, professional competencies, and most research competencies. Participants reported increased confidence in decision-making, taking on new responsibilities, and becoming more visible within research teams.

CONCLUSION

Web-based, international leadership and mentoring programs are promising tools for the leadership and professional development of PhD-prepared nurses and doctoral nursing students.

National collaborative maximizes pediatric hospital-based nurse scientist impact and resources through strategic networking

This paper describes how a national collaborative of pediatric nurse scientists has leveraged the expertise of their membership and strategic networking to guide the development of the evolving hospital-based nurse scientist role and influence centers of nursing research. Members' narratives illustrate how their networking across the collaborative has resulted in increased clarity and understanding of the hospital-based nurse scientist role, consistency in job responsibilities and expectations, title changes that more accurately reflect the nature of the role, establishment or expansion of centers of nursing research, success in talent recruitment, diversification of center team members, reporting structure alterations, and dedicated nursing research funding mechanisms. These tangible outcomes enable pediatric nurse scientists to become more effective in their roles and transform the care of pediatric patients and their families.

Building research infrastructure and multisite studies in merged health care settings: A framework for nurse scientists and health care leaders

BACKGROUND

Merged healthcare settings, particularly those with Magnet designated sites, present distinct opportunities for PhD nurse scientists developing nursing research infrastructure.

PURPOSE

This article aims to assist nurse scientists and healthcare leaders in defining nurse scientist roles, and in developing research infrastructure for conducting multi-site research in merged settings.

METHOD

Practical strategies and a framework are provided to assist in building and navigating nurse scientist roles and research infrastructure development.

DISCUSSION

Emphasizing the necessity of organizational support, the article underscores the importance of clear role delineation and leadership support.

CONCLUSION

To optimize the contributions of nurse scientists in merged healthcare settings, especially in Magnet organizations, clear role definitions, robust research infrastructure, and strong organizational support are imperative.

Development and psychometric appraisal of Head Nurse Research Leadership Scale

AIM

To develop a Head Nurse Research Leadership Scale and evaluate its reliability and validity.

DESIGN

A psychometric instrument validation study was conducted in two phases.

METHODS

The item tool was generated based on a literature review, semi-structured interview and brainstorming. Twenty experts validated the content of the initial version for two rounds. Thirty-nine clinical nurses conducted the HNRLS-v3 to test the readability of the items in pilot study I. Items were screened based on the critical ratio, correlation coefficient analysis, Cronbach's α coefficient and factor analysis using the data collected from 265 nurses in pilot study II. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in six hospitals to evaluate the reliability and validity between 4 January 2022 and 15 January 2022. Three hundred and sixteen nurses participated in this survey, and 60 completed the questionnaire to validate the test-retest reliability between 1 February and 6 February.

RESULTS

A 15-item Head Nurse Research Leadership Scale based on 5 dimensions was developed, and the content validity was satisfied. The 15 items accounted for 77.9% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis showed acceptable convergent validity and discriminant validity. The Cronbach's α coefficient, split-half reliability and test-retest reliability of the scale were 0.966, 0.9633 and 0.927, respectively.