Lessons Learned from Nurse Leaders During the Covid Pandemic-Implications for Prelicensure Baccalaureate Nursing Programs

Abstract

Background and Objective: This phenomenological inquiry explored the lived experience of acute care nurse leaders during the pandemic to better understand their experience of vulnerability as it contributes to enhancing the leadership curriculum in baccalaureate prelicensure nursing programs.

Methods: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 8 nurse leaders using a Gadamerian, hermeneutic, phenomenological framework. Data analysis included researcher immersion, understanding, abstraction, synthesis/theme development and finally, illumination and illustration of the phenomena (1, 2).

Results: Final analysis of the data revealed four interrelated major themes: Life Changing Experience/The Emergence of a New Unit Culture, Critical Leadership Functions for Supporting and Sustaining the Nursing Workforce, Managing Patient/ Personal/ Political and Professional Boundaries, and The Essentiality of C-Suite Contribution to Operations.

Conclusions: The study suggests a requirement to continue to train student nurses on core competencies of nurse leadership but encourages a shift from didactic and perhaps stagnant pedagogy to a more robust, participatory, experiential model and one that affords students leadership clinical placements and both role modeling and short-term mentorship experiences. This approach to student learning should include a competency-based model of instruction and assessment, utilization of experiential learning to help students apply theoretical knowledge to practice and student engagement in exercises in reflection towards developing self-awareness. Role modeling and mentorship opportunities should be prioritized. Suggestions for future research include exploring the application of this study’s finding to acute care setting new leader orientation programs and studies that measure the changes in leadership competence among nursing students after participating in the new curriculum.