What aspects of clinical leadership affects staffs' perceived levels of workplace stress?

Abstract

There are many different leadership styles that have been adopted over the years in the nursing profession. Effective leadership within nursing is vital as strong nursing leaders are crucial if there is to be an effective contribution from nurses. The literature identified that leadership is influential in creating the workplace culture, it was also claimed that the workplace culture has an influence on both staff nurses and patients well-being. There is limited literature exploring the staff nurses' perceptions of their nurse managers' leadership and workplace stress. Of the literature that was identified it was suggested that one of the ways to help reduce or manage staff stress levels is effective leadership, yet did not state what that the most effective way to manage it was. The purpose of this research proposal is to explore staff nurses perceptions of clinical leadership and its influences on their perceived workplace stress. An exploratory descriptive design has been adopted to explore nurses' thoughts, feelings and opinions to gain in-depth accounts of their experiences. The use of a focus group followed up by one-to-one interviews has been utilised, the focus group allows the topic to be discuss and highlight any talking points that can be probed further during the interview. The study will take place within an acute teaching hospital, the author will form the research team. A purposive sampling strategy will be utilised to invite the staff nurses working within general medical wards to participate in the study. A sample of 10-15 nurses will take part in a focus group followed be individual semi-structured interviews to explore their perceptions of clinical leadership and its influence on their workplace stress. It is hoped that allowing the reflection upon the experiences it will enhance the researchers' knowledge and understanding. The findings from this study may be adopted to inform further research within this topic area. It is hoped that the findings will help improve future nursing practice, as it will provide insight into what aspects of clinical leadership are the most effective in managing stress in the workplace.