| Learning Objective #1: Name an instrument for measuring delegation ability | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Describe how well a sample of nursing education administrators did on a test of delegation ability |
Objective: Skillfull delegation has been linked to a number of significant issues in clinical nursing (Littman, 2000; Dunne, 1999; Nyberg, 1999; Parsons, 1999; Johnson, 1996; Hansten & Washburn, 1995; Conger, 1993; Poteet, 1989). However, no studies have explored whether nursing education administrators successfully delegate. Because job satisfaction is connected with delegation skills, discovering a similar connection in academia is extremely important and timely.This study explored delegation skills of nursing education administrators. Design: This is a descriptive study. Population, Sample, Setting, Years: The population was administrators in baccalaureate and higher degree programs. Variables studied: 1. demographic variables 2. delegation ability, as measured by "How to Test Your Delegation Habits" (HTDH) (Krein, 1982). Methods: Questionnaires were mailed to 100 randomly selected education administrators and 64 were returned. Basic descrpitive statistics and correlations were performed. Findings: The sample (62) was primarily made up of individuals holding the title of Dean (49%), in that position for 6 years, and holding PhDs (73%). They supervised up to 65 faculty members and up to 47 staff members. Most (45%) scored in the "room to grow" category of the HTDH, 13% were "superior delegators", only 4% had "delegation habits that could be substantially improved". No one's score reflected "improprer use of staff". There was no significant correlation between years of experience or educational background and score. Conclusions: Nursing Education Administrators possess some degree of delegation skill, but no connection between that ability and years of expereince or type of graduate education was found. Most comments confimred that delegation is valuable. Discovering what makes the difference in the group that scored "superior" would be informative. Implications: Establishing a correlation between delegation ability and job satisfaction in this population is the next step. If that connection is established, then determining how nursing education administrators become "good delegators" will follow.
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Back to 14th International Nursing Research Congress
Sigma Theta Tau International
10-12 July 2003