Residency Programs and Clinical Leadership Skills Among New Saudi Graduate Nurses

Reem Nassar Al-Dossary; Panagiota Kitsantas; P J Maddox

doi:10.1016/j.profnurs.2015.10.004

Residency Programs and Clinical Leadership Skills Among New Saudi Graduate Nurses

J Prof Nurs. 2016 Mar-Apr;32(2):152-8. doi: 10.1016/j.profnurs.2015.10.004. Epub 2015 Oct 18.

Authors

Reem Nassar Al-Dossary¹, Panagiota Kitsantas², P J Maddox³

Affiliations

¹ Nursing Management and Leadership, Assistant Professor, College of Nursing, University of Dammam, Dammam, 31441, Saudi Arabia.; George Mason University.. Electronic address: rnaldosari@uod.edu.sa.
² Associate Professor, George Mason University.; George Mason University, School of Nursing, Fairfax, VA 22030-4444.. Electronic address: pkitsant@gmu.edu.
³ Professor, Chair, Health Administration and Policy.; George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030-4444.. Electronic address: pmaddox@gmu.edu.

PMID: 27000200
DOI: 10.1016/j.profnurs.2015.10.004

Abstract

Nurse residency programs have been adopted by health care organizations to assist new graduate nurses with daily challenges such as intense working environments, increasing patient acuity, and complex technologies. Overall, nurse residency programs are proven beneficial in helping nurses transition from the student role to independent practitioners and bedside leaders. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of residency programs on leadership skills of new Saudi graduate nurses who completed a residency program compared to new Saudi graduate nurses who did not participate in residency programs. The study design was cross-sectional involving a convenience sample (n = 98) of new graduate nurses from three hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The Clinical Leadership Survey was used to measure the new graduate nurses' clinical leadership skills based on whether they completed a residency program or not. Descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine leadership skills in this sample of new Saudi graduate nurses. A significant difference was found between residents and nonresidents in their leadership skills (t = 10.48, P = .000). Specifically, residents were significantly more likely to show higher levels of leadership skills compared to their counterparts. Attending a residency program was associated with a significant increase in clinical leadership skills. The findings of this study indicate that there is a need to implement more residency programs in hospitals of Saudi Arabia. It is imperative that nurse managers and policy makers in Saudi Arabia consider these findings to improve nurses' leadership skills, which will in turn improve patient care. Further research should examine how residency programs influence new graduate nurses' transition from student to practitioner with regard to clinical leadership skills in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: Clinical leadership; New graduate nurse; Residency programs; Saudi Arabia.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
Education, Nursing
Female
Humans
Internship and Residency*
Leadership*
Male
Nurse Administrators*
Professional Competence*
Saudi Arabia
Young Adult