How do Registered Nurses Understand Followership?

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Behavior

Background:

• Traditional nursing scholarship has overemphasized leadership, neglecting the interdependent role of followers.
• There is a recognized need for increased research and understanding of followership within the nursing profession.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a grounded theory that explains how registered nurses understand and practice followership.
• To explore the dynamics of the follower-leader relationship in nursing contexts.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative approach using Constructivist Grounded Theory was employed.
• Online interviews were conducted with 11 registered nurses and analyzed using Charmaz's methodology.

Main Results:

• The core category identified was "trusting informal and formal leaders."
• A conceptual model, "Followership as Trust in Acute Care Nursing Teams," emerged, detailing factors influencing trust: sharing the load, demonstrating knowledge, and clear communication.
• High trust correlated with proactive engagement, problem-solving, and initiative; low trust resulted in reduced willingness to follow.

Conclusions:

• Trust is fundamental for effective team functioning and ensuring safe patient care in nursing.
• Further research into the follower-leader dynamic is essential to inform nursing education, policy, and practice, empowering nurses in both follower and leader roles.