Structural Empowerment of Clinical Nurse Managers

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe perceptions of structural empowerment of clinical nurse managers (CNMs) in 1 large healthcare system. BACKGROUND: The recruitment and retention of CNMs are crucial to the future of healthcare institutions. Understanding the extent to which CNMs feel supported in the work environment and have access to resources, information, support, and opportunities to learn and develop will be beneficial to organizational effectiveness. METHODS: The sample included 140 CNMs from 1 large healthcare system in the northeastern United States. RESULTS: Consistent with previous research, CNMs in the present study had moderate levels of empowerment. They had lower than expected subscale scores on the resources subscale and acceptable scores on the subscales of support, formal power, and informal power. CONCLUSIONS: In the current changing healthcare environment, it is important to gain more understanding of the role of CNMs who are crucial to quality care and patient and nurse satisfaction. This study provides important baseline information about perceptions of structural empowerment among CNMs. Interventions that can be initiated to enhance the CNM empowerment are presented