Differences in managerial behaviour between head nurses and medical directors in intensive care units in Europe

Abstract

We attempt to determine whether differences appear between the managerial behaviour of European intensive care head nurses on the one side and medical directors on the other. In order to come up with a managerial job and competency analysis of ICU managers, observations and interviews were performed. Additionally, focus groups consisting of ICU experts were organized. The results are discussed according to managerial behaviour taxonomies and existing competency models. There seems to be some differentiation between the two managerial positions studied. Head nurses are more involved in planning/coordinating and motivating/reinforcing activities, whereas medical directors are more involved in socializing/politicking, decision making/problem solving, interaction with others and disciplining.

Cost calculation and budgeting: the effect of a training session on the skills of medical directors and head nurses in European intensive care units

“…Additionally, the fact that, in the``before'' tests, the medical directors outperform the head nurses is not totally unexpected, given the results of our study on managerial behaviour in ICUs, as reported elsewhere (Pepermans et al, 2001): medical directors are more involved in decision-making activities and as such a deeper knowledge of cost and budgeting issues may be required.…”

“…We developed guidelines and training sessions on cost accounting and budgeting tailored to the needs of ICU managers, and we measured receptiveness by testing cost calculation and budgeting skills, applying an ICU-specific instrument. As there appears to be some differentiation between the managerial behaviour of medical directors and head nurses in ICUs, the latter being more involved in planning/coordinating and motivating/reinforcing activities, whereas the former show more socializing/ politicking, decision making/problem solving and disciplining activities and interact more with others (Pepermans et al, 2001), we wonder whether this implies differences in cost calculation and budgeting skills. We also present separate results for men and women within each group.…”

The hierarchy of work pursuits of public health managers

“…This is also said to be required of other managers in rapidly changing environments. 38 More recent work has shown how a proliferation of business models have become available in health management circles, 39 how health sectors in developing countries have moved to adopt various managerial ideas, 40,41 the ways in which managerial behaviours differ across clinical professional groups 42,43 and the inherently political nature of health sector managerial work. 44,45 There does seem to be a shift to a cult of managerialism, [46][47][48][49] and this may have affected public health management.…”

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“…Recent research highlights the prevalence of workplace deviance both at non-clinical (Keyvanara, Maracy, and Ziari, 2015) and clinical hospital departments (Chu, 2014). What is more, it shows significant behavioral differences between these two professional groups based on their distinctive individual backgrounds (Pepermans et al, 2001;De Harlez and Malagueño, 2016).…”