Revitalizing the charge nurse role through a bespoke development programme.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Management
• Healthcare Education

Background:

• The charge nurse role is critical for high-quality patient care and ward operations.
• Nurses often assume charge nurse responsibilities without formal management training, leading to under-confidence and reluctance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development and outcomes of a specialized Charge Nurse Development Programme.
• To enhance nurses' management capabilities in acute hospital environments.

Main Methods:

• An anonymous questionnaire was used to gather evaluations from 95 charge nurses.
• Qualitative analysis was employed to assess program effectiveness.

Main Results:

• The program successfully met its objectives by utilizing role models and experts.
• Participants established a valuable peer support network.
• Nurses reported feeling more empowered and solution-oriented.

Conclusions:

• The program fostered reflexive practice, integrating reflection with action.
• Charge nurses experienced enhanced confidence, autonomy, and responsiveness.
• Further research is needed to link perceived outcomes with objective ward performance metrics.