A Qualitative Descriptive Study of Nurse Manager Decision-Making Associated With RN Hiring

Area of Science:

• Nursing Management
• Healthcare Workforce Planning
• Human Resources in Healthcare

Background:

• Identified gap in evidence-based strategies for nursing workforce stability.
• Observed inconsistencies in nurse manager (NM) methods for determining Registered Nurse (RN) hiring needs.
• Inconsistent hiring practices threaten strategic workforce planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore nurse manager (NM) decision-making practices for evaluating Registered Nurse (RN) hiring needs.
• To assess the self-confidence levels of NMs in their hiring decisions.
• To identify factors influencing NM confidence and practices in RN recruitment.

Main Methods:

• Employed a mixed-methods, qualitative descriptive research design.
• Conducted in-depth interviews with nurse managers (NMs).
• Utilized surveys to assess current hiring practices and NM confidence levels.

Main Results:

• The primary finding was a theme of 'false confidence' among participants.
• Significant dissonance observed between NM confidence and actual hiring process variability.
• No correlation found between NM stress, time spent on hiring, confidence, and years of experience.

Conclusions:

• Nurse managers (NMs) experience significant stress and invest excessive time in evaluating hiring needs.
• Current approaches used by NMs to assess RN hiring needs are highly variable.
• Managerial experience does not correlate with practical hiring skills or confidence levels.