Position-based indices of nurse managers’ competencies in Iloilo City

Abstract

The nurse managers’ competencies necessary for successful health care organizations are ill defined. What is not present in the literature is the data that defines or describes the different competencies of the nurse manager as perceived by the different positions of nurses in the organizations. Henceforth, this study was conducted to discover the competencies of a nurse manager based on the perceptions of (14) Staff Nurses, (11) Nurse Managers, and (6) Chief Nurses. This qualitative study utilized the Grounded Theory design by Glaser and Strauss to explain what the indices of nurse managers’ competencies are. Theoretical sampling was applied to ensure saturation of available data during analysis. Initial, intermediate, and advanced coding was performed.

The Chief Nurses identified the following as the vital competencies: (1) Human Resource Management, (2) Workforce Empowerment, (3) Technical Expertise, and (4) Quality Improvement Techniques Application.

The Nurse Managers, on the other hand, have identified the following competencies: (1) Human Interpersonal Skills, (2) Leadership Skills, (3) Decision Making Skills, (4) Financial Resource Management and (5) Constructive Performance Evaluation.

The Staff Nurses have put emphasis on the following competencies: (1) Teamwork and Collaboration, (2) Organizing Staffing Needs, (3) Human Relations, and (4) Financial Resource Management.

The findings of the study depicted the diverse indices of nurse managers’ competencies. Out of the different perspectives of the different positions of nursing career about managerial competency, there are variations in the perspective of the chief nurses, nurse managers and staff nurses. However, there is a commonality in their perceptions of the managerial competencies. So Managerial Competency can be viewed not only in the eyes of the chief nurses, but also from the nurse managers and staff nurses. Therefore, it’s not just a single perspective or a mono-perspective but a multi-perspective competency. The "Multi-Perspective Theory of Managerial Competency (Dalisay & Porque, 2019)” attempts to explain the competencies of a nurse manager -its main tenets, development, and relationship with each other. The major competencies that emerged from the three (3) perspectives are as follows: Human Resource Management, Human Interpersonal Skills, Workforce Empowerment, Technical Expertise, Financial Resource Management, and QI Techniques Application. Altogether, these competencies produce a competent nurse manager. The identified competencies formed the basis for the formulation of recommendation guidelines on nurse managers’ competencies. It was recommended that they may consider creating leadership and management programs, considering the inputs from the chief nurses, nurse managers and staff nurses, and be focused on human resource management as this is the key competency recognized by the multiple perspective of nurses for the nurse managers. They may conduct certain seminars and workshops that tailor to management within the organization. They may also offer team building activities for their nurse managers, chief nurses and staff nurses to improve their interaction with one other. From this, mentoring and coaching strategies may be formulated to address their areas of strength and weaknesses. Lastly, this study may be used as a baseline for quantitative or mixed-method research that can further validate the applicability of the theory.