2022 Volume 26 Issue 1 Pages 104-114
Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the professional attitudes and knowledge of nurse managers and the organizational changes that ensued after their participation in an "educational program using a Competency Model for Nurse Managers." An additional objective was to identify how nurse managers understood competency.
Methods: We conducted focus group interviews with 15 nurse managers from two hospitals that had implemented the aforementioned program. The program consisted of six clusters and 16 competencies with six levels. We performed a content analysis with an inductive approach to data.
Results: We identified four categories of changes perceived by nurse managers. These included "self-control and getting the bigger picture," "gaining confidence," "realization of the department they wanted to create," and "setting the same vision among themselves." Two additional categories were identified in the process of understanding competency: "overcoming difficulties in describing cases and deeply understanding the concept of competency" and "internalizing and mastering competency."
Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that this program could lead to changes in an organization as a whole and not only in the practices of nurse managers. Furthermore, descriptions of their own nursing management practices may lead to nursing managers' deepened understanding of the competency.
