![]() | The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(December 2010) |
Nursing management consists of the performance of the leadership functions of governance and decision-making within organizations employing nurses. It includes processes common to all management like planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. It is common for registered nurses to seek additional education to earn a Master of Science in Nursing or Doctor of Nursing Practice to prepare for leadership roles within nursing. Management positions increasingly require candidates to hold an advanced degree in nursing.
The chief nurse, in other words the person in charge of nursing in a hospital and the head of the nursing staff, is called nursing officer in UK English, [1] and head nurse or director of nursing in US English, [2] [3] and matron or nursing superintendent in Indian English. [4]
The chief nurse is a registered nurse who supervises the care of all the patients at a health care facility. The chief nurse is the senior nursing management position in an organization and often holds executive titles like chief nursing officer (CNO), chief nurse executive, or vice-president of nursing. They typically report to the CEO or COO.
The chief nurse serves as "the head of the general staff of the hospital" and is obeyed by his/her subordinate nurses. [5] Traditionally, chief nurses were called matrons and wore a dark-blue dress that was usually darker than that of her subordinates, who were also known as sisters, in addition to a white-starched hat. [6] As such, matrons usually "provide strong leadership and act as a link between Board-level nurses and clinical practice." [7] In military hospitals of the United States, matrons were "charged with the responsibility of making twice daily rounds to supervise the [common] nurses' duty performance." [8]
The American Organization of Nurse Executives is a professional association for directors of nursing.
Many large healthcare organizations also have service directors. These directors have oversight of a particular service within the facility or system (surgical services, women's services, emergency services, critical care services, etc.). Often these directors are over managers of those service lines.
The nurse manager is the nurse with management responsibilities of a nursing unit. They typically report to a service director. They have primary responsibilities for staffing, budgeting, and day-to-day operations of the unit, bed site teaching, complaint investigations & conducting educational programs at unit base.
The charge nurse is the nurse, usually assigned for a shift, who is responsible for the immediate functioning of the unit. The charge nurse is responsible for making sure nursing care is delivered safely and that all the patients on the unit are receiving adequate care. They are typically the frontline management in most nursing units. Some charge nurses are permanent members of the nursing management team and are called shift supervisors. The term for a female charge nurse was traditionally a nursing sister (or just sister), and this term is still commonly used in some countries (such as the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries). Some patients address a sister by Sister followed by her given name, for example, Sister Patricia.
Nurse education consists of the theoretical and practical training provided to nurses with the purpose to prepare them for their duties as nursing care professionals. This education is provided to student nurses by experienced nurses and other medical professionals who have qualified or experienced for educational tasks, traditionally in a type of professional school known as a nursing school. Most countries offer nurse education courses that can be relevant to general nursing or to specialized areas including mental health nursing, pediatric nursing and post-operatory nursing. Courses leading to autonomous registration as a nurse typically last four years. Nurse education also provides post-qualification courses in specialist subjects within nursing.
Team nursing is a system of integrated care that was developed in 1950s directed by Eleanor Lambertson at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York, NY. Because the functional method received criticism, a new system of nursing was devised to improve patient satisfaction. “Care through others” became the hallmark of team nursing. It was developed in an effort to decrease the problems associated with the functional model of nursing care. Many people felt that, despite a continued shortage of professional nursing staff, a patient care delivery model had to be developed that reduced the fragmented care that accompanies functional nursing.
Matron is the job title of a very senior or the chief nurse in several countries, including the United Kingdom, and other Commonwealth countries and former colonies.
Nursing in the United Kingdom has a long history. The current form of nursing is often considered as beginning with Florence Nightingale who pioneered modern nursing. Nightingale initiated formal schools of nursing in the United Kingdom in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The role and perception of nursing has dramatically changed from that of a handmaiden to the doctor to professionals in their own right. There are over 700,000 nurses in the United Kingdom and they work in a variety of settings, such as hospitals, health centres, nursing homes, hospices, communities, military, prisons, and academia, with most working for the National Health Service (NHS). Nurses work across all demographics and requirements of the public: adults, children, mental health, and learning disability. Nurses work in a range of specialties from the broad areas of medicine, surgery, theatres, and investigative sciences such as imaging. Nurses also work in large areas of sub-specialities such as respiratory, diabetes, cancer, neurology, infectious diseases, liver, research, cardiac, women's health, sexual health, emergency and acute care, gastrointestinal, infection prevention and control, neuroscience, ophthalmic, pain and palliative, and rheumatology. Nurses often work in multi-disciplinary teams but increasingly are found working independently.
Primary nursing is a system of nursing care delivery that emphasizes continuity of care and responsibility acceptance by having one registered nurse (RN), often teamed with a licensed practical nurse (LPN) and/or nursing assistant (NA), who together provide complete care for a group of patients throughout their stay in a hospital unit or department. While the patient is on the nurses' unit, the primary nurse accepts responsibility for administering some and coordinating all aspects of the patient's nursing care, with the support of other members of the nursing staff. This results in the nurse having greater insight into the patient's condition, both medical and emotional.
Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) is the nursing branch of the British Royal Navy. The Service unit works alongside the Royal Navy Medical Branch.
A flight nurse is a registered nurse who specialises in the field of providing comprehensive pre-hospital, emergency critical care, and hospital care to a vast scope of patients. The care of these patients is generally during aeromedical evacuation or rescue operations aboard helicopters, propeller aircraft or jet aircraft. On board a rescue aircraft you would find a flight nurse accompanied by flight medics and respiratory practitioners, as well as the option of a flight physician for comprehensive emergency and critical transport teams. The inclusion of a flight physician is more commonly seen in pediatric and neonatal transport teams. A critical care flight nurse must be able to deal with all age groups with broad critical emergencies. With no physicians on site the nurses scope of practice is expanded. The critical care experience is transferred over to a flight nurse with impacting factors such as altitude and changes in pressure, gravitational forces, and weather. Some patients may experience exacerbation because of factors related to the cabin environment including hypoxia, limited mobility, gas expansion, and risk of injury related to turbulence and resources with definitive care are limited. Aeromedical evacuation crews coordinate with other organizations to plan for the safe and timely care and evacuation of patients. Crews must be prepared for patients with trauma and mental health illnesses.
Nursing is a profession within the healthcare sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses can be differentiated from other healthcare providers by their approach to patient care, training, and scope of practice. Nurses practice in many specialties with differing levels of prescription authority. Nurses comprise the largest component of most healthcare environments; but there is evidence of international shortages of qualified nurses. Nurses collaborate with other healthcare providers such as physicians, nurse practitioners, physical therapists, and psychologists. There is a distinction between nurses and nurse practitioners; in the U.S., the latter are nurses with a graduate degree in advanced practice nursing, and are permitted to prescribe medications unlike the former. They practice independently in a variety of settings in more than half of the United States. Since the postwar period, nurse education has undergone a process of diversification towards advanced and specialized credentials, and many of the traditional regulations and provider roles are changing.
Eva Charlotte Ellis Luckes was Matron of The London Hospital from 1880 to 1919.
Caroline Keer, was a British military nurse and nursing administrator, who served in Natal during the Second Boer War.
Occupational health nursing is a specialty nursing practice that provides for and delivers health and safety programs and services to workers, worker populations, and community groups. The practice focuses on promotion, maintenance and restoration of health, prevention of illness and injury, and protection from work‐related and environmental hazards. Occupational health nurses (OHNs) aim to combine knowledge of health and business to balance safe and healthful work environments and a "healthy" bottom line.
A healthcare technician is a health professional that provides care to patients. Healthcare technician's primary position is to assist medical staff complete tasks around their assigned unit or clinic's and accommodate patient needs. Healthcare technicians are typically found in specialty clinics, intensive care, emergency departments, or laboratory collection facilities. Technicians will perform basic cardiology reports such as, electrocardiograms and will have basic understanding of bodily function. The technician is an integral member of the unit-based healthcare team, they contribute to the continuity of care by decreasing fragmentation through decentralization of selected diagnostic and therapeutic treatment modalities.
The history of nursing in the United States focuses on the professionalization of Nursing in the United States since the Civil War.
Marie Schuber Manthey is an American nurse, author, and entrepreneur. She is recognized as one of the originators of Primary Nursing, an innovative system of nursing care delivery.
Community nursing is nursing care delivered outside acute hospitals, for example in the home, within General Practice facilities, in community hospitals, in police custody, at a school or in a care home. In the UK, a community nurse needs a degree approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, as well as 1–2 years’ experience as a qualified Adult Nurse.
Rosalie Dreyer was a Swiss-born naturalised British nurse and administrator. Immigrating to England at the age of eighteen, she trained as a nurse in London and worked her way through the ranks to become matron, principal matron and chief matron-in-charge of the Nursing Service of the London County Council. At this time, nursing was making a shift from a voluntary service to a profession and Dreyer was involved as a pioneer in the development of Britain's public-funded nursing service.
Dorothy Bannon, CBE was a pioneering British nurse who as Chief Matron-in-Charge of the Hospital and School Nursing Service of the London County Council. She was instrumental in the development of Britain's public-funded nursing service.
Nursing educational programs in Iran are similar to the nursing educational programs in other countries in many aspects. Holding a secondary school diploma and passing the entrance exam is necessary for the admission. The entrance exams to governmental universities and Azad University are held separately. The duration of the associate degree course for operating room and anesthesia is two years, a bachelor's degree in nursing is four years, a master's degree in nursing is two to two and a half years, and a doctorate degree in nursing is four to five years.
Ethel Tracy Richardson (1877–1942) was an Australian nursing sister, army matron-in-chief, and honorary major who served during the First World War. She was the first person to become Matron-in-chief on the staff of the director general of medical services at Army Headquarters, Melbourne.
The Salmon Report (1966) or the Salmon Report on Senior Nursing Staff Structure was the report of a committee established to bring standardisation in structure and pay for senior hospital nurses in England and Scotland. The report recommended changes to how nurses jobs were categorised in hospitals and management training for nurses.
Nursing Superintendent/Matron The Matron will be responsible to the MS for the administrative and technical aspects of nursing in the hospital. Her charter of duties will include the following: ( 1 ) Administration of nurses, their accommodations and messing, viz. equitable distribution and economic utilization of nursing staff, maintenance of duty roster, turnout and discipline; supervision ...
I. The staff of European nurses shall consist of a matron or senior nurse, and such other nurses as may from time to time be appointed. II. The matron shall be the head of the general staff of the hospital, and shall be responsible for the discipline of the institution to the medical officer. III. The other nurses shall obey the orders of the matron or senior nurse, and perform whatever duties she may detail them for in addition to their duties as prescribed by the senior medical officer.
The matrons of the past had a very distinctive uniform, usually a dark-blue dress, in a slightly darker hue than that of her direct subordinate (the sisters). She also wore an elaborate, white-starched hat.
There is a clear expectation that matrons will provide strong leadership and act as a link between Board-level nurses and clinical practice. Nurses at Board level have a responsibility to ensure that nursing meets Trust objectives.
The larger military hospitals ideally had a nursing staff that consisted of a matron or head nurse and a number of "common" nurses. The matron was charged with the responsibility of making twice daily rounds to supervise the nurses' duty performance.
Nurse Manager Core Competencies: A Proposal in the Spanish Health System. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(9):3173. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17093173
Modelo de competencias para la gestora enfermera. Metas Enferm dic 2019/ene 2020; 22(10):5-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.35667/MetasEnf.2019.22.1003081511
Competency Model for the Middle Nurse Manager (MCGE-Logistic Level). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(8):3898. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18083898
Nurse managers’ competencies: A scoping review. J Nurs Manag. 2021; 29: 1410– 1419. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13380
Modelo de competencias para la gestora enfermera del nivel operativo. Metas Enferm mar 2022; 25(2):49-55. Doi: https://doi.org/10.35667/MetasEnf.2022.25.1003081885
A competency model for nurse executives. International Journal of Nursing Practice, e13058. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijn.13058