A systematic review of factors influencing knowledge management and the nurse leaders' role

To describe factors facilitating or inhibiting the development of registered nurses' competency and nurse leader's role in knowledge management.

Nurses' competency directly influences patient safety and the quality and effectiveness of patient care. Challenges of nurse leaders in knowledge management include acquiring, assessing and utilising current knowledge and assessing and enhancing competency.

A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, SCOPUS and ERIC databases in April 2015. The search identified 18 relevant research articles published between 2009 and 2015. The quality of the studies was appraised in accordance with study designs.

Knowledge management is facilitated by an organisation culture that supports learning, sharing of information and learning together. Leader commitment and competency were factors related to leadership facilitating knowledge management.

Nurse leaders need evidence-based interventions to support shared learning and to create infrastructures that facilitate competence development. Future research is especially needed to evaluate connections between knowledge management and patient outcomes.

The results of this review can be utilised in enhancing factors to facilitate knowledge management in clinical practice and identifying nurse leaders' role in strengthening nurses' competency.