Nurse Manager Core Competencies: A Proposal in the Spanish Health System

Abstract

Nurses who are capable of developing their competencies appropriately in the field of management are considered fundamental to the sustainability and improvement of health outcomes. These core competencies are the critical competencies to be developed in specific areas. There are different core competencies for nurse managers, but none in the Spanish health system. The objective of this research is to identify the core competencies needed for nurse managers in the Spanish health system. The research was carried out using the Delphi method to reach a consensus on the core competencies and a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to determine construct validity, reducing the dimensionality of a dataset by finding the causes of variability in the set and organizing them by importance. A panel of 50 experts in management and healthcare engaged in a four-round Delphi study with Likert scored surveys. We identified eight core competencies from an initial list of 51: decision making, relationship management, communication skills, listening, Leadership, conflict management, ethical principles, collaboration and team management skills. PCA indicated the structural validity of the core competencies by saturation into three components (α Cronbach >0.613): communication, leadership and decision making. The research shows that eight competencies must be developed by the nursing managers in the Spanish health system. Nurse managers can use these core competencies as criteria to develop and plan their professional career. These core competencies can serve as a guideline for the design of nurse managers’ development programs in Spain.

Psychometric properties and development of the competency inventory for Taiwanese nurse managers across all levels

“…'Business literacy' mainly focuses on the ability to administer human, financial, material and information aspects of the health care business. These results are consistent with and supported by Gunawan et al, 2019) or evidence-based decision-making (Garcia et al, 2020;McCarthy & Fitzpatrick, 2009). Moreover, this domain also underlined the tendency or ability to be creative, innovative and actively selfdeveloped.…”

“…McCarthy and Fitzpatrick (2009) identified 'relationship building' and 'communication and influencing' as generic competencies, which were foundational for effective performance at all managerial levels. In addition, Garcia et al (2020) identified 'communication skills' and 'relationship management' as core competencies for all managerial levels. The present findings are apparently consistent with Katz's perspective that human skills are essential to effective management at all levels.…”

“…Furthermore, McCarthy and Fitzpatrick (2009) reported eight foundational competencies for effective performance for all managerial levels and specific competencies for three levels in an Irish national study. In the Spanish health care system, Garcia et al, (2020) identified eight core competencies needed for the functional levels of nurse managers (executive, logistic and operational management).…”

Competency Model for the Middle Nurse Manager (MCGE-Logistic Level)

“…The American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) [ 36 ] identified the management of the relationships, communication, leadership, knowledge of the health environment and financial skills as strategic areas in the development of competencies. González García et al [ 42 ] highlighted the management of relationships, communication skills, listening, leadership, conflict management, ethical principles and skills for managing teams as core competencies for nurse managers. Finally, in a brief summary, Pillay [ 43 ] highlighted the management of people and organizational capacity, together with strategic thinking, as key competencies.…”

A multisite survey of managerial competence and organizational commitment among nurses working at public hospitals in Saudi Arabia

“…Nurse managers need to develop competencies such as the ability to make decisions, communicate effectively and collaborate with others. Such a role should not be handled by a nurse without management training (Gonzalez-Garcia et al, 2020). Nurse managers' core competencies include decisionmaking, relationship management, communication skills, listening, leadership, conflict management, ethical values, teamwork and team management (García et al, 2020).…”