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The nurse manager's work in the hospital environment during the 1990s and 2000s: responsibility, accountability and expertise in nursing leadership
Author(s) -
SURAKKA TIINA
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of nursing management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1365-2834
pISSN - 0966-0429
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2834.2008.00901.x
Subject(s) - accountability , nursing , nursing management , work (physics) , nurse administrator , nurse manager , health care , focus group , nursing research , qualitative research , primary nursing , psychology , nurse education , medicine , business , medline , sociology , political science , mechanical engineering , social science , marketing , law , engineering
Aim The aim of the study was to describe and compare the characteristics of the nurse manager’s work in different hospital environments and at different times. Background Business values and pressures for cost efficiency have become a reality in health care. Method The data comprised the diaries of 155 nurse managers working in one Finnish health district’s hospitals in the 1990s and 2000s. In addition, focus group interviews were used as a data source. The data were subjected to qualitative and quantitative content analysis. Results The nurse manager’s work comprises responsibility activities, accountability activities, and traditional bedside nursing. They also described the recognition of the underlying premises of their work and outcome orientation. Their descriptions of work varied between university and rural hospitals, between psychiatric and somatic nursing and between different wards. The work changed in the 2000s as the nurse manager’s role changed from nurse to nurse leader. Conclusion It appears that nurse managers have succeeded in integrating different leadership models into their daily work pattern. Implications for nursing management A new leadership model was devised based on an emerging nursing framework. Nurse leaders should assess who can assume leadership positions in health care and on what grounds.