Nurse managers' perception of governance among Korean nurses

Enhancing nursing education to bolster nurse governance: insights from nurse managers

Aim

In South Korea, the level of nursing governance is moving toward shared governance. This study sought to explore nursing education contents in undergraduate nursing programs necessary to improve the governance of nurses from the perspectives of nurse managers.

Methods

The study employs thematic analysis following the guidelines outlined in the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research utilizing a qualitative research design. Our investigation involves general or tertiary hospital nurse managers intending to gain valuable insights and perspectives.

Results

Interview data from 14 nurse managers were analyzed. A total of one main and four sub-themes were derived from the qualitative data analysis. Analysis revealed the main theme, "occupational socialization." The four sub-themes were education on "nurse-patient and nurse-colleague communicative interaction," "humanity," "career development," and "nurses as politicians."

Conclusion

The findings are valuable in suggesting critically needed educational content in undergraduate nursing programs to improve nursing governance. Future research should investigate the effects of the abovementioned themes on nursing governance among clinical nurses or nursing students for several years of follow-up data collection.

The perception of shared governance and engagement in decision-making among nurses

BACKGROUND

Shared governance is a structural framework for operationalizing nursing ownership and accountability for nursing practice. Healthcare institutions are striving to promote healthy and satisfactory work conditions to retain their qualified personnel and achieve organizational stability and high care quality. However, little is known about nurses' participation in governance in developing countries.

AIM

This study aims to evaluate the levels of shared governance, also known as professional governance, among nurses in Jordan. The demographics of the study participants will also be assessed.

METHODS

The current study used a cross-sectional design implementing an anonymous online survey technique to collect data from 111 nurses on the Index of Professional Nursing Governance (IPNG). Descriptive statistics were performed to evaluate the nurses' perception of the concept of shared governance in the domains of personnel, information, resources, participation goals and conflict resolution, and practice.

RESULTS

Among the 111 nurses, 55% of the participants were females, 45.5% were affiliated with governmental hospitals, and about half of them worked in critical care units. The analysis showed that the mean score for the total IPNG was 113 (SD = 26.28). The analyses of the mean scores of IPNG domains ranged from 11.5 (SD = 4.6) for goals and conflict resolution to 23.8 (SD = 5.7) for access to information.

DISCUSSION

The results revealed that nurses' average perception of professional governance demonstrated shared governance, and more specifically, in the lower level of shared governance where decisions are made primarily by management with some staff input. Analysis of the domains of governance revealed that participants' scores corresponded with shared governance in the areas of information, resources, goals and conflict, and practice, while traditional governance was prevalent in the governance of nursing personnel and participation.

CONCLUSION

There is an agreement on the need of moving the position of frontline nurses to the center of their organizations where equity, accountability, and ownership are the pillars of participative governance. Frontline nurses need further empowerment to be more actively engaged especially in the management of nursing staff and related structures and in the participation in structures connected to governance activities at different organizational levels such as in committees.

The predicting effects of professional governance and structural empowerment on job satisfaction among Jordanian nurses: A cross-sectional study

AIM

This study aimed to investigate the role of professional governance and empowerment in predicting nurses' job satisfaction.

BACKGROUND

Nurses can lead the way to enhance health care quality for all if they work in safe, satisfying and empowering environments. Professional governance and structural empowerment are associated with favourable work conditions and environments. However, studies addressing the predicting effects of professional governance and structural empowerment on job satisfaction are still limited.

METHODS

A cross-sectional design was applied. Online self-reported questionnaires were completed by 126 nurses. The analysis consisted of descriptive statistics, Pearson r correlation and hierarchical multiple regression to address the research aim.

RESULTS

Job satisfaction moderately correlated with structural empowerment (r = .40, p < .001) and professional governance (r = .30, p < .001). The final regression model revealed that 30% of the variation in job performance scores can be predicted by professional governance, structural empowerment and some demographic characteristics (R²  = .30, F = 8.67, p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Working in an environment that incorporates empowerment conditions, genuine support and valuable opportunities will increase the nurse's job satisfaction. Additionally, nurses will have higher job satisfaction if they have their voices heard.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

Nurse managers should properly assess the existing situation in each institution, implement already-tested-for-effectiveness and efficiency interventions and create new ones based on nurses'-specific needs.