Managing the professional nurse. Part II. Applying management theory to the challenges

In Part I of this article, the author reviewed the ideas of some of the major administrative thinkers over the past 30 years. Having set the stage with an overview of current thinking in the general area of management theory, the author here examines some of the specific challenges involved in managing the professional nurse. Often, these problems are unique and the management theorists offer only limited help. In other instances, management theory is directly relevant. The author addresses the following four broad categories that are unique to the profession of nursing: nursing as a female profession, professionalism and the lack of it, stress and burnout, and expectancy congruence.