Senior nursing students' perspectives on nursing management: a qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Management
• Leadership Studies

Background:

• Nursing management education often lacks practical application of leadership skills in clinical settings.
• Students report a need for innovative educational strategies to prepare them for nurse management roles.
• Understanding student perspectives is crucial for effective nurse management training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore final-year nursing students' views on essential nurse manager skills, practices, and attitudes.
• To identify student-perceived competencies for effective nursing leadership and management.
• To inform curriculum development for nursing management programs.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive qualitative study design.
• Data collected via written narratives from 35 senior undergraduate nursing students.
• Descriptive thematic analysis of collected data.

Main Results:

• Five key themes emerged: successful nurse manager attributes, effective nursing leadership, team empowerment, nursing team cohesion, and care delivery models.
• Students emphasized the need for nurse managers to adopt more effective leadership roles.
• Identified essential skills for nurse managers include fostering empowerment and building team cohesion.

Conclusions:

• Student reflections offer valuable insights for updating nursing curricula.
• Findings can enhance nursing students' leadership and managerial knowledge and skills.
• Recommendations support better preparation of future nurse managers for clinical practice.