Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify and describe competencies and leadership characteristics of Army Adult Medical-Surgical Critical Care Head Nurses. A qualitative, exploratory descriptive research design was used in this study to learn from 31 research participants consisting six Army Chief Nurses, seven Army Critical Care Head Nurses and 18 Army Critical Care Staff Nurse. Analysis was completed using content analysis. The conceptual framework developed by Robert Katz (1974) was utilized as the framework for this study. He determined that effective administrators (leaders) root their competence in three basic developable skills: technical, human, and conceptual skills. Data were collected through audio taped interviews with the three levels of nursing personnel at six Army Medical Centers. Data were coded using Nvivo 7 software, which was used to organize the topics so that categories and themes could be identified by definition and frequency. Ninety-one topics were identified from the 31 interviews, which were then collapsed into 19 categories, and ultimately, five themes emerged from the data. Additional review of findings was completed through member checking with the research participants. The five themes that emerged from the data were: (1) The Army Critical Care Head Nurses are the clinical experts and subject-matter-experts for their unit staff and the critical care consultant to the Chief Nurse. (2) The Army Critical Care Head Nurse are the role model for the entire critical care staff and lead their staff by example. (3) The Army Critical Care Head Nurses need to possess communication and interpersonal skills that foster a positive environment for patient care, professional growth, and development of Army Nurse Corps officers. (4) The Army Critical Care Head Nurses honestly and candidly advocate for their critical care unit, patients, and staff, to all other health care providers who practice in their unit as well as to the departmental and organizational leaders. (5) The Army Critical Care Head Nurses who thoroughly know their critical care staff nurses in terms of professional and personal lives provide a critical care unit environment where critical care nurses provide quality patient care, thrive professionally, want to continue to practice and are retained in this critically short nursing specialty. These themes reveal essential competencies and leadership characteristics of the Army Critical Care Head Nurse as perceived by the 31 research participants in this study. These themes offer a starting point for further research in the key role of the Army Critical Care Head Nurse and its potential influence on the junior Army Critical Care Staff Nurses to continue to serve in the Army Nurse Corps as critical care staff nurses.
Sigma Membership
Gamma Alpha
Type
Dissertation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Descriptive/Correlational
Research Approach
Qualitative Research
Keywords:
Critical Care Nurses, Leadership, Positive Work Environment
Advisors
Vail, James D.||Sorrell, Jeanne||Rowan, Kathy
Degree
PhD
Degree Grantor
George Mason University
Degree Year
2007
Recommended Citation
Harris, Roy A., "A qualitative descriptive study that identifies essential competencies and leadership characteristics of army adult medica-surgical critical care head nurses" (2023). Dissertations. 771.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/dissertations/771
Rights Holder
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Review Type
None: Degree-based Submission
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2023-01-31
Full Text of Presentation
wf_yes
Description
This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 3287873; ProQuest document ID: 304346157. The author still retains copyright.