Study and implementation of a performance set of indicators for the nurse manager in a frailty hospital

INTRODUCTION: Hospitals are known to be the most complex entities to manage. In fact, the main problem in healthcare are the expensive needs with limited resources. During the last years the complexity of the nurse manager role has gradually changed from assistance to management. However, nowadays the methods for quantifying the nurse managers’ skills and performance are not available. The aim of this study is to implement a method to assess and measure the skills of the nurse managers. An innovative indicator to globally evaluate the features, the professional skills and their performance is described. METHODS: The authors started with an interview with the directors of all the nurses as the top experts of the nurse managers’ technical skills. The purpose of this step was to understand what were the features of a valuable nurse manager. The methods identified three different aspects (qualitative, quantitative and relational) that were transformed in a single indicator. These parameters also enable to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each professional. An important implication of this score is the possible improvement of loss-making skills. RESULTS: A total of 18 centres, with their nurse managers, were evaluated in this study. All the results confirmed the judgment of the Healthcare Professions Structure Manager. CONCLUSIONS: This assessment method, validated with these tests, evaluated the nurse manager’s ability to deal with personnel, resources and patients and to quantify his/her organizational and welfare performances. It is useful for planning actions that allow nurse managers to improve their skills.