Relationship between leadership and work readiness in a cohort of new head nurses in China: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

To identify the relationship between leadership and work readiness in a cohort of new head nurses in China. This cross-sectional study enrolled 225 newly appointed head nurses in public tertiary hospitals in China, which were selected using convenience sampling. Data were collected using online questionnaires that included a sociodemographic characteristics form, the Nursing Managers Leadership Scale (NMLS), and the New Nurse Leaders’ Job Readiness Scale (NNLJRS). IBM SPSS v.25 was used for statistical analysis. The overall mean scores of NMLS (100.50 ± 17.64) and NNLJRS (111.90 ± 15.84) of the 225 new nurse leaders were at moderate levels. The results of the Pearson correlation analysis and the hierarchical regression analysis further indicated that there was a significant positive correlation between leadership and work readiness of new head nurses (r = 0.85, P < .001), as well as charisma (β = 0.19, P < .01), affinity (β = 0.18, P < .01), coordination ability (β = 0.32, P < .01), and motivational ability (β = 0.21, P < .01) in leadership were found to be positively associated with work readiness. This study found that the leadership and work readiness of the new head nurses still needed improvement. A significant relationship was found between these 2 variables, and charisma, affinity, coordination ability, and motivational ability in the leadership ability of the new head nurses facilitated the level of work readiness. Nursing administration should create a leadership development series program focusing on the development of charisma, affinity, coordination ability, and motivational ability to support the work readiness of new nurse managers and help them with role transition.