ROLE DEVELOPMENT OF NURSE MANAGERS IN THE CHANGING HEALTH CARE PRACTICE
Abstract: Rapid changes in
today’s healthcare industry are reshaping nurses’ role. The emergence of new
healthcare system, the shift from service to business orientations, and
extensive redesign of workplace affects the where and how nursing care is
delivered as well as those who delivered the care. In the Philippines,
healthcare system is in the midst of dramatic evolvement- the devolution of
hospitals to LGUs, free healthcare for senior citizens and no balance billing
policy yielding to increased client-nurse ratio. These impacts change the roles
of nurse managers and their practice. The study aimed to understand the
experience and phenomena of nurse managers, their roles in the dynamics of
healthcare practice, and seek ways to enhance the development of these roles.
The study used descriptive phenomenology-qualitative design, and utilized
Colaizzi method during data analyses. Through researcher-made guide questions,
the study employed purposively nurse managers as key informants from tertiary
hospitals that experienced devolution using the inclusion and exclusion
criteria. The researchers conducted interviews with audio- tapes that then
later transcribed. The study revealed that nurse managers encountered
challenges in the workplace like deprivation of responsibility, less
administrative support that challenged their responsibili- ties. The nurse
managers identified new roles that they have developed over time like Carative-managerial
role, responsibility to educate and the responsibility to the nursing
profession. They are believers that the enhancement of such roles is realized
through rest and recreation among staffs to avoid burnout and exhaustion,
acquiring continuing professional education, clinical teaching and mentoring
skills strategies to understand better human behavior. The researchers
recommends consumption of such study findings as basis for improving hospital
facilities for the provision of patient safety, revisiting and strengthening
the hiring and screening policies for new nurses, administrative support for
staff development and as basis to conduct further studies on the emerging roles
to other settings.
Keywords: changing roles, nurses roles, nurse managers,
emerging roles, health care practice, role development
Penulis: Joel Rey Ugsang Acob,
Wiwin Martiningsih
Kode Jurnal: jpkebidanandd180073
