International Nursing: How Much Power Do Nurse Managers Have?

Area of Science:

• Nursing Management
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Nurse managers play a critical role in healthcare delivery and unit operations.
• Understanding the factors influencing nurse managers' power and empowerment is essential for effective leadership.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the power and empowerment of nurse managers at both unit and organizational levels.
• To identify factors correlating with nurse managers' perceived power.
• To examine the relationship between structural and psychological empowerment and overall power.

Main Methods:

• Data collected via questionnaires from nurse managers, including background, work, and power-related questions.
• Empowerment assessed using the Competitive Employment Questionnaire (CWEQ-II) and the Work Empowerment Questionnaire.
• Analysis of power at unit and organizational levels.

Main Results:

• Nurse managers perceived high personal power at the unit level.
• Perceived power at the organizational level was moderate.
• Professional background factors correlated with power at both levels.
• Structural and psychological empowerment were linked to overall power at unit and organizational levels.

Conclusions:

• High unit-level power provides nurse managers opportunities to lead nursing care development.
• Increased organizational integration of nurse managers can enhance their leadership impact.
• Organizations should leverage nurse managers' leadership potential for broader development processes.