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Ineffective participation: reactions to absentee and incompetent nurse leadership in an intensive care unit
Author(s) -
ROUSE RUBY A.
Publication year - 2009
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.1365-2834.2009.00981.x
Subject(s) - nursing , mentorship , intensive care unit , productivity , psychology , intensive care , nursing management , unit (ring theory) , job satisfaction , nurse administrator , burnout , workload , critical care nursing , health care , medicine , medline , medical education , social psychology , clinical psychology , mathematics education , psychiatry , intensive care medicine , political science , law , economics , macroeconomics , computer science , economic growth , operating system
Aim The aim of the present study was to analyse reactions to ineffective leader participation in an intensive care unit (ICU). Background Critical examination of leadership failures helps identify nurse manager behaviours to avoid. Method An online survey collected data from 51 interacting healthcare providers who work in an intensive care unit. Results Participants reported dissatisfaction with nurse leaders who were perceived as absent or ill prepared. Participants categorized intensive care unit productivity and morale as moderate to low. Multiple regression suggested the best predictor of perceived unit productivity was supervisor communication; the best predictor of employee morale was perceived leader mentoring. Conclusions Intensive care unit nurses reported wanting active participation from their leaders and expressed dissatisfaction when supervisors were perceived as absent or incompetent. Ineffective leader participation significantly correlated with lower employee perceptions of productivity and morale. Implications for nursing management Senior managers should recruit and develop supervisors with effective participation skills. Organizations primarily concerned about productivity should focus on developing the communication skills of nurse leaders. Units mainly concerned with employee morale should emphasize mentorship and role modelling. Formal assessment of nurse leaders by all intensive care unit team members should also be used to proactively identify opportunities for improvement.