Abstract
This study is one of a series of studies that examine burnout among nurses and its relevance to the organizational climate. It focuses on the head nurse from the viewpoint of the organizational climate. A total of 540 nurses responded to the questionnaires. Factor analysis was used to extract the following two factors: (1) the head nurse's consideration for staff nurses and (2) her positive and challenging attitude to nursing. There was a significant difference with regard to the two subscales on the scale to measure the head nurse as recognized by the wards. The results regarding the experienced age group revealed a mild relation between the two subscales of the head nurse as recognized by the members of her team and the personal achievement of the "mid-level nurse layer." The importance of the head nurse's role in developing the "nurse layer" was also indicated. With regard to the "young nurse layer," the head nurse as recognized by the members of her team was the most affirmatively evaluated aspect of this study. The head nurse's consideration for staff nurses was observed to affect the suppressed depersonalization and emotional exhaustion of the "novice nurse layer."
