title: Barriers to clinical leadership development: findings from a national survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe self-reported barriers to clinical leadership development among nurses and midwives in Ireland.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Effective clinical leadership is essential for optimising care and improving patient outcomes. Clinical leadership development is concerned with intrapersonal and interpersonal capabilities and is context bound. Barriers to clinical leadership development among nurses and midwives are associated with interdisciplinary and organisational factors, such as lack of influence in interdisciplinary care planning and policy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A national postal survey of nurses and midwives was administered to a simple random sample of 3000 nurses and midwives in Ireland.
  
  
  METHODS
  The method of data collection was the Clinical Leadership Analysis of Need Questionnaire (CLAN-Q) Barriers Scale (CLAN-QBS), a self-administered, self-report questionnaire developed to measure the barriers to clinical leadership development.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean scores for the CLAN-Q barriers subscales showed that barriers to clinical leadership development were perceived as lower in the dimension 'quality care factors', when compared with the dimensions 'interdisciplinary relationships, recognition and influence'. Staff and other promotional grades differed significantly in self-perceived barriers related to interdisciplinary working, influence and recognition of the disciplinary contribution.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Differential experiences of barriers among higher and lower grades suggest that grade level may influence ability to negotiate work-related and organisational barriers to clinical leadership development.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overcoming the barriers to clinical leadership development requires attention to interdisciplinary relationships in the practicum and to the actual and perceived degree of relative influence that nurses and midwives have at wider departmental and organisational levels.
authors: UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, UCD Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. gerard.fealy@ucd.ie
authors: Gerard M
authors: GM
authors: Fealy
authors: Martin S
authors: MS
authors: McNamara
authors: Mary
authors: M
authors: Casey
authors: Ruth
authors: R
authors: Geraghty
authors: Michelle
authors: M
authors: Butler
authors: Phil
authors: P
authors: Halligan
authors: Margaret
authors: M
authors: Treacy
authors: Maree
authors: M
authors: Johnson
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection; D007494:Ireland; D007857:Leadership; D008880:Midwifery; D009729:Nursing; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires