Factors influencing managerial competence of frontline nurse managers

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between nursing practice environment, resilience, job stress, communication skills, and managerial competence of frontline nurse managers and identify factors influencing their managerial competence. Methods: A descriptive research was carried out with 148 frontline nurse managers in six general hospitals. From August 16 to October 7, 2016 data were collected using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, independent t-test, One-way ANOVA, Scheffe test, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression using IBM SPSS/WIN 22.0. Results: Managerial competence of frontline nurse managers was positively correlated with nursing practice environment (r=.41 p<.001), resilience (r=.45, p<.001), communication skills (r=.38, p<.001) and was negatively correlated with job stress (r=-.27, p<.001). The factors influencing managerial competence were nursing practice environment (β=.29, p=.002) and resilience (β=.28, p=.007) in that order. The input variables explained 30.8% of managerial competence. Conclusion: The results suggest that a policy guideline is needed to enhance managerial competence of frontline nurse managers. The policy guideline should include achieving an adequate level of nurse staffing to improve the nursing practice environment and providing frontline nurse managers with educational support and administrative assistance to increase their resilience.