2017 Volume 37 Pages 364-373
Purpose: This study aimed to clarify the contents of experiential learning among 10 nurse managers in the early years of a supervisory role who participated in an experiential learning-based program to foster competence among nurse managers and showed obvious changes in their scores on the experiential learning scale after completing the program.
Methods: Sixty-three nurse managers participated in this experiential learning-based program, during which they wrote about their experiences in a reflective journal. Furthermore, they completed an experiential learning scale before and after the program. We focused on 10 nurse managers who showed obvious changes in their scale scores after completing the program. Data from 41 reflective journal entries written by these 10 nurse managers were analyzed qualitatively and subjected to descriptive analysis.
Result: Contents of experiential learning among nurse managers were categorized as follows: (1) seven categories of challenging tasks that nurse managers struggled with; (2) six categories of reflections of nurse managers; (3) six categories of knowledge and skills that nurse managers acquired through dealing with challenging tasks; and (4) two categories of attempts to apply new knowledge and skills in different situations.
Conclusion: Our results indicated the contents of experiential learning among nurse managers who showed obvious changes in their experiential learning scale scores. We believe nurse managers can promote experiential learning by incorporating the contents of this study into their nursing management practice. Furthermore, we believe that the results of our study are applicable to the development of programs for nurse managers that utilize experiential learning.
