Nursing home administrator self-assessed preparedness.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Healthcare Administration
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Nursing home administrators (NHAs) are crucial for improving nursing home quality.
• NHA licensure requirements vary significantly by state, with multiple pathways to entry.
• Current understanding of NHA preparation and training for their complex roles is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore nursing home administrators' self-assessed person-job fit.
• To evaluate NHAs' self-rated preparedness for their roles.
• To determine the importance of activities supporting NHA preparation.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive, cross-sectional study design was employed.
• Data were collected from 175 randomly recruited NHAs across five states using a mailed questionnaire.
• Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, correlations, and t tests/ANOVA.

Main Results:

• Only 30% of NHAs reported feeling well prepared for their initial position.
• NHAs showed a preference for formalized training (e.g., Administrator-in-training programs, Bachelor's degrees, mentoring).
• Lower preference was indicated for on-the-job training, previous experience, and self-study.

Conclusions:

• There is a critical need for better-prepared NHAs to meet quality improvement mandates.
• This study offers initial insights into NHAs' self-perceived preparation and training needs.
• Findings suggest a strong preference among NHAs for more structured educational pathways to enhance job readiness.