Caring behaviour perceptions from nurses of their first-line nurse managers

Area of Science:

• Nursing Management
• Healthcare Leadership
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Nursing is recognized as both an art and science of caring.
• Caring behaviors between nurse managers and Registered Nurses (RNs) are less studied than patient-nurse interactions.
• The perspective of RNs on nurse managers' caring behaviors remains largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the caring behaviors of first-line nurse managers from the perspective of RNs in mainland China.
• To identify specific actions that constitute caring from the RNs' viewpoint.
• To provide a foundation for nurse managers to adopt preferred caring practices.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative descriptive phenomenological study.
• In-depth interviews conducted with 15 Registered Nurses recruited via purposive sampling.
• Data analyzed using Colaizzi's phenomenological analysis technique.

Main Results:

• Three central themes of caring behaviors emerged: promoting professional growth, exhibiting democratic leadership, and supporting work-life balance.
• These identified behaviors are significant from the perspective of the nurses.
• The findings highlight specific areas for nurse managers to focus on.

Conclusions:

• A clearer understanding of nurse managers' caring behaviors from the RNs' perspective has been achieved.
• The identified themes—professional growth, democratic leadership, and work-life balance—hold significant implications for nurse managers.
• Further research is recommended to detail actionable strategies for nurse managers in these areas.