title: Nurse managers' challenges in project management.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyse the challenges that nurse managers meet in project management.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Project management done by nurse managers has a significant role in the success of projects conducted in work units.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data were collected by open interviews (n = 14). The participants were nurse managers, nurses and public health nurses. Data analysis was carried out using qualitative content analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The three main challenges nurse managers faced in project management in health-care work units were: (1) apathetic organization and management, (2) paralysed work community and (3) cooperation between individuals being discouraged.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nurse managers' challenges in project management can be viewed from the perspective of the following paradoxes: (1) keeping up projects-ensuring patient care, (2) enthusiastic management-effective management of daily work and (3) supporting the work of a multiprofessional team-leadership of individual employees.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is important for nurse managers to learn to relate these paradoxes to one another in a positive way. Further research is needed, focusing on nurse managers' ability to promote workplace spirituality, nurse managers' emotional intelligence and their enthusiasm in small projects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland. marjo.suhonen@oulu.fi
authors.forename: Marjo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suhonen
authors.forename: Leena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Paasivaara
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006801:Humans; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000458:organization & administration*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009745:Nursing, Supervisory / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015279:Organizational Culture; D005791:Patient Care; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012931:Social Environment; D035502:Trust; D014481:United States; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology