Nurse Manager and Staff Nurse Perceptions of Selected Competencies Related to the Nurse Manager Role

The literature has indicated that the role ofthe nurse manager is important to the organization, needs ta be clarified, and can influence the recruitment and retention of nursing staff.Perceptions that nwrse managers and staff nurses have about the nurse manager role are not well documented in the literature.This study explored whether there was a difference between the perceptions of nurse managers m d staffnurses regas-the importance of selected competencies needed to function in the nurse manager role.The design used for this sludy was nonexperimental and descriptive.A replication and extension of portions of the research conducted by Weaver (1986) was undertaken.A random sampling of 100 staff nurses and 100 nurse managers residing in the state of Iowa was obtained.The Skills Questionnaire by Weaver (1986) as adapted from S W , Querin, Rudy, and Crawford (1983), as well as a demographic form developed by the researcher, was mailed to each subject.Results revealed a significant difference between nurse manager and sterff nurse perceptions of nurse manager patient care management competencies.There were no significant Merences between nurse manager and staff nurse perceptions regar-all competencies, human resource management competencies, or operational management competencies.Significant differences were found in perceptions of all competencies, human resource management competencies, and 14.Differences in Perceptions of Competencies in Sbff Nurses by Place of Employment 5 1 15.Differences in Perceptions of Competencies Between Full-Time and Part-Time Staff Nurses 53 1 Differences in Perceptions of Cornpetearcies Between Staff Nurses with Prior Nurse Management Experience and Those Without Prior Nurse Management Experience 54 vii