Managerial Competence of First-Line Nurse Managers in Public Hospitals in Indonesia

PURPOSE: Working as a first-line nurse manager requires high managerial competence as an essential component in the delivery of health care. Therefore, factors that influence managerial competence warrant examination. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with managerial competence of the first-line nurse managers using the best-fit model of human resource management framework. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 247 first-line nurse managers from 18 public hospitals in Indonesia participated. Data on managerial competence and its related factors were collected via validated questionnaires. RESULTS: The five factors of managerial competence were identified – performance appraisal (β = 0.476, p < 0.001), career advancement (β = 0.425, p < 0.001), recruitment and selection (β = 0.354, p < 0.001), larger hospitals (β = 0.165, p = 0.001), and management training attendance (β = 0.109, p = 0.029), which collectively explained 44.9% of the variance in managerial competence. CONCLUSION: Human resource management factors, hospital types, and training attendance have significant roles to improve managerial competence of the first-line nurse managers. Nurse managers should provide routine performance appraisal, career advancement, and transparent recruitment and selection as well as to improve the attendance of management training and learn from larger hospitals for leadership and development of the first-line nurse managers.