Perspectives of nurse managers on information communication technology and e‐Leadership

Abstract

Aim We sought nurse managers’ perspectives on challenges and opportunities with technology and how it may influence communication and leadership. Background e‐Leadership is a conceptual framework used to understand and teach organisational leaders about the application of technology to leadership. Technology is integral to leadership, yet little is understood about how nurse managers may use this technology and how they negotiate the complexity of the multiple communication systems currently in use. Methods Sixteen nurse managers from individual hospitals within a large US healthcare system participated in qualitative open‐ended interviews and focus groups. Results Four themes emerged from the qualitative data regarding the nurse managers’ perspectives of e‐Leadership and their use of information and communication technologies: (a) Can't live without it, (b) Too much, too many, (c) Poor onboarding education and (d) Difficulty maintaining virtual relationships. Implications for Nursing Management Effective and safe patient care is dependent on multiple technology applications that require significant knowledge and practice. Nursing leadership may consider the need for more supported mentorship, and engaging programs to educate nurse managers about the dozens of applications required to effectively manage and lead. For technology to be used to its full potential it should be designed with nursing involvement.

Viestintä osana etäjohtamista terveydenhuollossa

“…Alan perinteinen lähiesimiestyö on muuttumassa etäesimiestyöksi, mikä haastaa työyhteisöjä. [1][2][3]. Etäältä johdetaan etätyötä, hajautettua työtä, liikkuvaa työtä tai ajasta ja paikasta riippumatonta työtä.…”

“…Etäältä viestiessä esiintyy erilaisia teknologiaan liittyviä ongelmia ja ammattilaisten teknologiavalmiuksissa on havaittu puutteita. [3,21].…”

“…etäviestinnässä perinteisten menetelmien käyttö on tavanomaista [7,22] ja siihen liittyy erilaisia teknologiaan liittyviä ongelmia eikä ammattilaisten teknologiavalmiuksien ylläpitämiseen ole riittävästi resursoitu [3,21]. Myös terveydenhuollon esimiesten olisi tärkeää saada koulutusta, mentorointia ja tukea teknologian hyödyntämiseen [3]. Sähköisissä viestintävälineissä ja -kanavissa olisi paljon uusia mahdollisuuksia, joita organisaatiot eivät vielä riittävästi hyödynnä [16].…”

Leadership in Digital Health Services: Protocol for a Concept Analysis (Preprint)

“…This may be because health care leaders might have insufficient informatics skills. For example, according to Sharpp et al [57], some nurse leaders are inexperienced users of ICT. Several studies have proposed that health care leaders have not received enough, or any, education on informatics [13,29,58].…”

Older persons and relatives’ experience of coordinated care planning via a video meeting

“…An increasing number of functions in the healthcare system are being digitized, but knowledge and understanding of how technology can be used without losing the person‐centred approach are needed (Beirao, Den Ambtman, De Pourcq, De Regge, & Simões do Carmo Dias, & Kandampully, 2016). Previous research on information and communication technology (ICT) in health care has focused on, for example, attitudes among nurses regarding the implementation of ICT in home nursing (Nilsson, Skär, & Söderberg, 2008); nurses’ experiences of using ICT for supporting people living at home (Nilsson, Skär, & Söderberg, 2010); nurse managers’ perspectives on the challenges and opportunities associated with technology (Sharpp, Lovelace, Cowan, & Baker, 2019); and how nursing students learn with the support of clinical ICT (Lee, Carson, Clarke, Yang, & Nam, 2019). Previous research has also found that while digital services in health care are used in Sweden, they are more common in urban areas (Ekman et al, 2019).…”