Subordinate performance appraisal: what nurses really want in their managers

This project describes a process used to identify the important job behaviors of nursing managers as seen by their staff nurses. A questionnaire developed for this purpose was administered to thirty-nine staff nurses at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary, Alberta. The questionnaire included behaviors of managers which were categorized as either contributing to "structure" or "consideration". Staff nurses were found to favor both high structure and high consideration behaviors in a nurse manager. Behaviors found in the questionnaire to be most valued became content items on the subordinate appraisal form developed as a result of this project. The Landy-Farr Model of Performance Appraisal guided the project development. Health care organizations in their efforts to improve productivity and the quality of work life for nurses should consider alternate methods of performance appraisal for nurse managers.