Nurse leaders' experiences of professional responsibility towards developing nursing competence in general wards: A qualitative study

AIM: To explore nurse leaders' experiences of professional responsibility to facilitate nursing competence in general wards. BACKGROUND: Nurse leaders are responsible for maintaining high levels of competence among nurses to improve patient safety. METHODS: Qualitative analysis was conducted between February and April 2019 using semi‐structured interview data from 12 nurse leaders in surgical and medical wards at three Norwegian hospitals. RESULTS: Four main themes were identified: struggle to achieve nursing staff competence; focus on operational and budgetary requirements rather than professional development; demands to organize sick leaves and holiday periods; and challenges in facilitating professional development. CONCLUSION: Nurse leaders felt that their responsibilities were overwhelming and challenging. They witnessed more support for current administrative tasks than for the implementation of professional development. Additionally, unclear work instructions from the employer provided few opportunities to facilitate professional development. Hospital management failed to ensure quality of care and patient safety in general wards by not supporting the strengthening of nurses' professional competence and preventing turnover. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Management may integrate formal work instructions that clarify nurse leaders' responsibilities as professional developers, allowing nurse leaders to meet their obligation of maintaining adequate professional competence among nursing staff in general wards.