Today’s nurse leaders need managerial and leadership skills to address unprecedented challenges. The well-being of nurse leaders is an important factor in their ability to adapt to the changing shape of the delivery model, do more with less and demonstrate improvement in efficiency, maintain and improve quality and safety metrics as transparency advances, and sustain a satisfied workforce. Consequently, it is important to identify individuals at risk for burnout and low levels of well-being as early as possible. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the well-being of nurse leaders may be related to grit, a psychological factor defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals.The purpose of this scholarly project is to explore the relationship between grit and psychological well-being in nurse leaders as a first step in understanding if grit matters for the profession. The goal of this study is to explore whether the personality attribute called “grit” represents a core personality trait among nurse leaders. More specifically, are higher grit scores among nurse leaders associated with measures of psychological well-being.
Methods:
A web-based survey design was used. A purposive sample of Nurse Leaders that belong to professional societies were surveyed; the response rate is pending. Inclusion criteria: members with accountability for a clinical unit, multiple units or a department who are actively working in leadership roles at hospitals and/or health systems, literate in English, with basic computer skills. Exclusion criteria: members opted out of mass e-mail communication, or work in academia and other settings. Perseverance was measured using the Short Grit Scale, a validated tool that predicts trait-level perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Nurse leader well-being was measured with (1) burnout and (2) personal accomplishment using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, by far the most widely used tool to measure burnout in nurses (Beckstead, 2002). The personal accomplishment (PA) sub-scale has been independently validated and measures the values of excellence and competence with higher scores positively associated with reduced burnout. Additional demographic questions were included.
Results:
In progress. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize survey results based on demographic information. Comparative statistical methods will be used to determine the relationships between the two personality attributes.
Conclusion:
The data analyzed from this study will describe the relationship between grit and well-being of nurse leaders as a first step in understanding if grit matters for the profession. If grit is positively associated with feelings of personal accomplishment, a known antidote to burnout, it may be a quick, reliable measure that can predict attrition risk. Long term, grit development may prove to be an effective tool for improving nurse retention, success and quality outcomes.