Development and Evaluation of the “High-Up” Program for Enhancing the Nursing-Management Competency of Mid-Career Hospital Nurses: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop an educational program to strengthen the nursing management competency of experienced nurses who are prospective nurse managers and then determine the effectiveness of the program. This quasi-experimental study was conducted from January to April 2021. A total of 22 nurses were assigned to the experiment group (mean age: 26.55 ± 1.30 years; 2 males, 20 females), and 20 were assigned to the control group (mean age: 27.55 ± 2.04 years; 20 females). The program, known as the “High-Up” program, comprised problem-based learning (PBL) and video lectures. In the experiment group, nurses discussed PBL cases through video conferences and applied problem-solving methods. The collected data were analyzed using the Friedman test and Wilcoxon rank-sum test (administered through SPSS). At four weeks after the intervention, the experiment group showed higher critical thinking tendency scores than the control group (pre-intervention score: 3.48 ± 0.36; post-intervention score: 3.71 ± 0.49; Z = −1.99, p = 0.046). The findings indicate that the “High-Up” program can enhance the nurse management competency of experienced nurses who need to prepare for nurse manager roles, and that it can also positively influence the performance of nursing organizations. However, it can be difficult to comprehensively enhance nursing management competency in a short period of time, meaning continuous education is required.

A modified Delphi study on establishing a curriculum content structure for the leadership and management competency cultivation for future nurse managers in China

“…Thus, the above two modules were considered more integral to preparing for the managerial role compared to other modules, as can be seen from the mean scores of subordinate items. Simultaneously, similar content was also found in previous nursing leadership and management competency training programs and its importance was highly emphasized [ 42 , 43 ].…”

Competencies of Nurse Managers as Predictors of Staff Nurses’ Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intention

“…The pandemic turned hospitals into battlefields, with nurse managers heavily engaged in effecting changes and directing staff to work according to standards to ensure quality of care [ 6 ]. During the period of crisis, intertwined challenges related to resource allocation and change and quality management arose [ 37 ]. Many of these challenges were exacerbated by the pandemic situation; for instance, the lack of hospital beds, manpower, and materials, such as personal protective equipment [ 38 ].…”

“…With further validation, it could be adopted as a tool to assess the competencies of nurse managers against standards of performance [ 47 ]. Regarding the training of nurse managers, previous studies have indicated that a one-off education program failed to improve the competencies of nurse managers [ 37 ], and many scholars have stressed the importance of providing systematic and continuous training to nurse managers [ 41 , 48 ]. The findings of this study can serve as a basis for designing these training programmes.…”

“…Because the study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has also taken into account the competencies that nurse managers should learn in order to manage crises or health catastrophes such as pandemics [ 39 ]. The efforts made by previous researchers to develop training and orientation programs based on nurse manager competencies have proven to be effective in facilitating the role transition of novice nurse managers and in bringing them success [ 37 ]. The findings of this study lay a foundation for the development of succession planning programs to identify the right person with the essential competency levels, and to facilitate the role transition of staff nurses to first-line nurse managers.…”

The effect of continuous care on the recovery of patients with advanced colorectal cancer undergoing chemotherapy

“…The Cronbach reliability coefficient was 0.82 and 0.85, respectively. (4) Nurse Clinical Communication Ability Scale: This scale was developed by Lee et al [15] and consists of 49 items. The higher the score is, the better the communication ability of the nurse is.…”