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

To explore the practices and self-confidence of nurse manager (NM) decision-making related to evaluating RN hiring needs.

Evidence-based hiring strategies to sustain workforce stability were identified as a gap in the literature. Locally, inconsistencies in the method that NMs use to determine how many RNs to hire and at what frequency to hire them were observed, posing a threat to strategic workforce planning.

Using a mixed-methods, qualitative descriptive design, researchers used in-depth interviews and surveys to assess current practices and NM confidence related to evaluating hiring needs.

The overarching theme among the 10 participants was false confidence. Subthemes reflected the dissonance in confidence and high variability in the hiring process. NM stress, time spent, and confidence were not correlated with years' experience.

NMs experience stress, spend excessive time, and use varying approaches to evaluate hiring needs. Years of managerial experience are unrelated to practical skills or level of confidence in hiring decision-making.