The role of incentives in nurses' aspirations to management roles.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to describe findings from a study examining nurses' perceptions of incentives for pursuing management roles.


BACKGROUND
Upcoming retirements of nurse managers and a reported lack of interest in manager roles signal concerns about a leadership shortage. However, there is limited research on nurses' career aspirations and specifically the effect of perceived incentives for pursuing manager roles.


METHODS
Data from a national, cross-sectional survey of Canadian nurses were analyzed (n = 1241) using multiple regression to measure the effect of incentives on nurses' career aspirations.


RESULTS
Twenty-four percent of nurses expressed interest in pursuing management roles. Age, education, and incentives explained 43% of the variance in career aspirations. Intrinsically oriented incentives such as new challenges, autonomy, and the opportunity to influence others were the strongest predictors of aspirations to management roles.


CONCLUSIONS
Ensuring an adequate supply of nurse managers will require proactive investment in the identification, recruitment, and development of nurses with leadership potential.
Author Affiliations: Associate Professor (Dr Wong), Faculty of Health Sciences; Distinguished University Professor and Research Chair in Human Resource Optimization (Dr Laschinger); and Doctoral Student (Ms Cziraki), Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
Carol A
CA
Wong
Heather K
HK
Spence Laschinger
Karen
K
Cziraki
D000328:Adult; D001240:Aspirations, Psychological; D002170:Canada; D002322:Career Mobility; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000523:psychology*; D010560:Personnel Selection; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires