Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and impact of peer-to-peer shadowing as a technique to develop nurse middle managers' clinical leadership practices. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative descriptive study was conducted to gain insight into the experiences of nurse middle managers using semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed into codes using constant comparison and similar codes were grouped under sub-themes and then into four broader themes. Findings Peer-to-peer shadowing facilitates collective reflection-in-action and enhances an "investigate stance" while acting. Nurse middle managers begin to curb the caring disposition that unreflectively urges them to act, to answer the call for help in the here and now, focus on ad hoc "doings", and make quick judgements. Seeing a shadowee act produces, via a process of social comparison, a behavioural repertoire of postponing reactions and refraining from judging. Balancing the act of stepping in and doing something or just observing as well as giving or withholding feedback are important practices that are difficult to develop. Originality/value Peer-to-peer shadowing facilitates curbing the caring disposition, which is essential for clinical leadership development through unlocking a behavioural repertoire that is not easy to reveal because it is, unreflectively, closely knit to the professional background of the nurse managers. Unlike most leadership development programmes, that are quite introspective and detached from context, peer-to-peer shadowing does have the potential to promote collective learning while acting, which is an important process.
given the opportunity to work with senior leaders to develop their skills in leadership, strategy, project management and health policy. The fellows were exposed to the full spectrum of clinical senate work, clinical reviews, proactive projects, production and presentation of reports, as well as opportunities to attend meetings with senior leaders both locally and nationally. Conclusions The clinical fellows enhanced the senate work programme by undertaking proactive projects. This allowed collaborative working with partner organisations, to evaluate models of care following service reorganisation, review the evidence regarding systems organisation and collaborative working for winter pressures and generate a narrative to bring physical activity as a treatment to the local healthcare agenda. Clinical fellowships offering the level of exposure to the rich opportunities for clinical leadership development that the East Midlands Clinical Senate has been able to offer are rare. Clinical senates provide innovative arenas for fellows to experience systems based thinking with tangible involvement as leadership figures and supporting leadership career development.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.