Nurse educators’ experiences regarding management practices at a nursing education institution

BACKGROUND: Currently nursing education is undergoing major transformation that pose considerable challenges with which nursing education institution (NEI) management must deal. Yet nurse educators displayed behaviour that reflected distrust, loss of respect and loyalty and a paucity of admiration towards NEI management. AIM: The article aimed at exploring the lived experiences of nurse educators regarding the management practices at a NEI. SETTING: The setting was a public NEI in Gauteng, South Africa that had 11 departments and offered both undergraduate and post-basic studies. METHODS: A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, contextual and phenomenology study was conducted with a purposive sample of 20 qualified nurse educators who were fully employed, taught at the current NEI and were willing to participate. Data were collected from June 2015 to July 2016 through face-to-face, semi-structured individual interviews and analysed using Tesch’s protocol. Ethical principles were observed and trustworthiness ensured. RESULTS: The themes that emerged were management’s dominant use of one leadership style with inconsistent treatment; lack of stimulation to aspire to higher academic levels; and lack of support with minimal resources. CONCLUSION: Nurse educators experienced ineffective management practices and this ineffectiveness had negative impact for nurse educators in coping with major transformational changes brought by the dynamic nursing education environment. CONTRIBUTION: The recommendations made might assist NEI managers to improve their management practices, therefore assist nurse educators cope with transformation. The findings added to the body of existing knowledge on effective management of NEIs by aiming to achieve institutional and individual goals within a transformative environment.