Manager Leadership, Nursing Workforce Satisfaction, and Patient Outcomes: From Quality Improvement Initiative to Exploratory Study

Our Department of Nursing strategic goal to develop recruitment and retention plans for nurse managers is foundational to this project. Laschinger’s(2007) framework of empowerment, self-evaluation, and manager job satisfaction provides the framework for understanding factors in recruiting and retaining managers and establishing associations to outcomes. Results from 25 managers responding to the Conditions of Work Effectiveness and Organizational Description Questionnaires are presented. Results are explored in context of Laschinger’sframework that posits situational and personal factors shape work environments. Manager perceptions of work conditions and organizational supports are discussed. Lessons learned from our Institutional Review Board approved exploratory study are shared to provide practical strategies and better understanding for nurse manager recruitment and retention.