Management nurse's perceptions and experiences of power and empowerment in nursing: s qualitative study

INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE: Empowerment is important for quality health care and professional development of nurses. In this direction, it is critical how nurse managers perceive power and empowerment. This study was planned to examine the perceptions and experiences of nurse managers about power and empowerment in nursing. MATERİALS AND METHODS: In this study, phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. The sample of the study consisted of 15 nurse managers who met the criteria for inclusion in the research in a training and research hospital located in the east of the Marmara region. The data of the study were collected between January 2023 and June 2023 by using the "Personal Information Form" and "Semi-Structured Interview Form" by individual in-depth interview method. Thematic analysis was used in the analysis of the data. FİNDİNGS: It was determined that nurse managers associated power and empowerment with knowledge, experience and competence, and found it important to be a role model by transferring information to nurses in order to empower them. It has been determined that nurse managers empower nurses by organizing various training activities and supporting their professional development. Again, it has been revealed that the lack of financial support, the lack of physical environment, the density of the working system, some individual characteristics of the nurses and the inadequacies in the legal regulation are seen as an obstacle to empowerment by the managers. CONCLUSION: It has been observed that nurse managers play important roles in empowering other nurses and use some practices for empowerment, but various factors create obstacles to empowering nurses, and managers need to create programs and strategies for effective professional empowerment.