Self-leadership of nurses in a critical care outreach service: The development of a conceptual framework

BACKGROUND: Globally, critical care outreach services (CCOS) were implemented in health care facilities; however, compliance with guidelines is poor. The authors have noticed that a gap exists in the literature on how self-leadership might influence nurses’ implementation of CCOS. Self-leadership is about leadership applied to oneself. Critical care outreach services assist nurses with the nursing care of a patient whose health is declining. Leadership is needed for the successful implementation of CCOS. AIM: This article aims to outline the method the authors followed for developing the conceptual framework for how self-leadership amongst nurses influenced the functioning of CCOS. SETTING: The research was conducted at a private hospital in Pretoria. METHODS: A qualitative approach was followed to provide an accurate description of nurses’ experiences on their self-leadership in a CCOS. The practice-oriented theory of Dickoff (1968) was the reasoning map for developing and constructing the conceptual framework. RESULTS: Bedside nurses experienced the following self-leadership strategies: constructive thought patterns, natural rewards and behaviours focused on their implementation of CCOS. CONCLUSION: The conceptual framework was part of another study and provided the authors with a rationale that guided the authors with the development of self-leadership strategies in a CCOS. CONTRIBUTION: The conceptual framework provided the authors with an understanding of how nurses’ self-leadership influenced the implementation of CCOS. The conceptual framework can also assist in developing training programmes for nurses to improve their self-leadership and ultimately improve nurses’ competence in providing quality nursing care to patients.