The experience of being a shift-leader in a hospital ward.
OBJECTIVE
This paper is a report of a study to explore the experience of being a shift-leader, and how these nurses view the management of their shift.


BACKGROUND
Professional demands on skilled and capable shift-leaders, who competently handle multi-disciplinary staff and patients, as well as operations and information, call for the development of efficient nursing leadership roles. Nevertheless, knowledge of shift-leaders' perspectives concerning their task management and leadership styles is relatively limited.


METHODS
Twenty-eight Registered Nurses working in an Israeli medical centre participated in this qualitative study. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews conducted in two phases between February and October 2005: three focus group interviews (phase 1) followed by seven individual interviews (phase 2).


RESULTS
Content analysis revealed two major themes which constitute the essence of being a shift-leader: (1) a burden of responsibility, where the shift-leader moves between positions of maximum control and delegating some responsibility to other nurses; (2) the role's temporal dimension, expressed as a strong desire to reach the end of the shift safely, and taking managerial perspectives beyond the boundaries of the specific shift. The core of the shift-leader's position is an immense sense of responsibility. However, this managerial role is transient and therefore lacks an established authority.


CONCLUSIONS
A two-dimensional taxonomy of these themes reveals four types of potential and actual coping among shift-leaders, indicating the need to train them in leadership skills and systemic thinking. Interventions to limit the potential stress hazards should be focused simultaneously on shift-leaders themselves and on job restructuring.
Goldblatt
Hadass
H
Faculty of Welfare and Health Sciences Department of Nursing, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel. goldblat@research.haifa.ac.il
Granot
Michal
M
Admi
Hanna
H
Drach-Zahavy
Anat
A
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000523:psychology; D009745:Nursing, Supervisory; D017748:Time Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance / Q000523:psychology