Nurse managers’ work content: development of the questionnaire and results of the pilot study

Abstract

Nurse managers' work content: development of the questionnaire and results of the pilot study Aim: To develop the Nurse Managers' Work Content Questionnaire (NMWCQ) and to describe nurse managers' work content. Background: Restructuring within health care has expanded the nurse manager's role to include organisational, patient and staff demands. Methods: The pilot study employed a cross-sectional study design. Based on a literature review, the NMWCQ with 102 items was developed and pretested for this study. Data were collected in 2017 from three Finnish acute care central hospitals that provide specialised health care. A total of 61 nurse managers participated, which represents a response rate of 59%. Principal component analysis was used to test the construct validity of the instrument. Cronbach's alpha values were used to analyse the internal consistency of the instrument. In addition, descriptive and nonparametric analysis was used. Results: Ultimately, 13 components with 87 items were identified in the questionnaire. The construct validity and internal consistency of the questionnaire were at acceptable levels. Cronbach's alpha rates of the components were 0.554-0.890. The most frequently performed daily work of nurse managers was in the component of organising, and the most infrequently performed daily work was in the component of clinical nursing. Conclusions: The study shows that the Nurse Managers' Work Content Questionnaire (NMWCQ) is suitable for measuring the current content of nurse managers' work. However, the questionnaire is new and needs additional testing such as confirmatory factor analysis with larger amounts of data.

Relationships between nurse managers’ work activities, nurses’ job satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and medication errors at the unit level: A correlational study

“…The development and preliminary results of the questionnaire were reported in an earlier study; as such, the data used in this study represent secondary data. Previous research reported Cronbach's alpha values between 0.554-0.890 for the NMWCQ (18), while the Cronbach's alpha values ranged between 0,478-0,916 in this study (Table 2).…”

“…Data concerning the frequencies at which nurse managers perform various work activites were collected using an electronic questionnaire (Nurse Managers' Work Content Questionnaire, NMWCQ) (18). The NMWCQ was developed in 2016 to identify the content of nurse managers' work and which tasks they spend the most amount of time on.…”

“…Nevertheless, previous literature has shown that nurse managers have various responsibilities and duties, ranging from staff recruitment and daily management to strategic planning and nancial management (13). In recent years, nurse managers have become more involved in administrative work while their share of clinical work has diminished (11,17,18). Recent studies have reported that nurse managers' daily work often consists of organizing, work scheduling and resource management (13,19,20).…”

Relationships Between Nursing Management, Nurses’ Job Satisfaction, Patient Satisfaction, and Medication Errors at the unit Level: A Correlational Study

“…However, an increase in patients' ratings of Cognition of physical needs decreased nurses' Work well-being, while a lower number of nurses per nurse manager (n<40) strengthened nurses' opinions of Leadership yet weakened their views of Working environment. Previous studies have found supporting and motivating staff to be a signi cant part of nurse managers' work (8,9). Nurse managers can enhance staff well-being by encouraging staff to participate in planning, and can improve unit performance by being interested in nursing outcomes (5).…”

“…Nurse managers' work contains multiple different responsibilities and duties, ranging from staff recruitment and daily management to strategic planning and nancial management (7). In recent years, nurse managers have become more involved in administrative work at the expense of clinical work (8,9).…”