Abstract:
The literature has indicated that the role of the nurse manager is important to the organization, needs to be clarified, and can influence
the recruitment and retention of nursing staff. Perceptions that nurse managers and staff nurses have about the nurse manager role are not
well documented in the literature.
This study explored whether there was a difference between the perceptions of nurse managers md staff nurses regarding the importance of selected competencies needed to function in the nurse
manager role. The design used for this study was nonexperimental and descriptive. A replication and extension of portions of the research conducted by Weaver (1986) was undertaken.
A random sampling of 100 staff nurses and 100 nurse managers residing in the state of Iowa was obtained. The Skills Questionnaire by Weaver (1986) as adapted from Stahl, Querin, Rudy, and Crawford (1983), as well as a demographic form developed by the researcher, was mailed to each subject.
Results revealed a significant difference between nurse manager and sterff nurse perceptions of nurse manager patient care management competencies. There were no significant differences between nurse manager and staff nurse perceptions regarding all competencies, human
resource management competencies, or operational management competencies. Significant differences were found in perceptions of all competencies, human resource management competencies, and
operational management competencies when staff nurses were placed in categories according to employment setting. Staff nurses with no prior nurse management experience scored significantly higher on perceptions of operational management competencies than staff nurses who had prior nurse management experience.
Additional studies should be conducted to determine generalizability of the findings to the target population by conducting a study with a larger sample size encompassing various regions of the country. It would also be helpful for future researchers to expand the study to determine the perceptions of other health care professionals,
patients, and families regarding the role of the nurse manager.
