Dimensions of clinical leadership among pre-registration nursing students: A cross-sectional study between two countries

Aims

To explore a) pre-registration students' self-perceptions of clinical leadership behaviours and b) differences in students' self-perceptions of leadership behaviours between two countries (UK and Israel).

Background

Effective leadership has been associated with high-quality and compassionate care provision in health and social care contexts. This has led to a common acceptance that teaching leadership in nursing education is essential if students are to develop competencies in this area. Worldwide, there is limited research on nursing students' perception of clinical leadership behaviours as well as on the development of leadership behaviours during the study years.

Design and methods

A cross-sectional survey design was used among two convenience samples of UK and Israeli pre-registration nursing students. Closed questionnaires were uploaded in the format of a commercial internet survey provider (Qualtrics.com) and distributed through the virtual learning platforms in the two participating universities. In total 656 students were invited to participate and the response rates were 28.1 % (Israel) and 17.9 % (England).

Results

Overall, 140 students completed the questionnaires. Significant differences were found between the two sites in the leadership dimensions "Emotional Intelligence" and "Impact and Influence" (p < .05), with UK students scoring higher than Israeli students. Among the Israeli sample, significant differences were found in leadership dimensions according to years of study, with higher scores reported in the 3rd and 4th year students compared with the 1st and 2nd Year students in the referred dimensions (p < .05).

Conclusions

Differences in students' clinical leadership perception exist between the two cohorts examined. Nurse educators should expand international research on this subject to identify possible antecedents in developing clinical leadership behaviours. At the same time, there is a need to continue efforts to enhance the development of clinical leadership behaviours during all study years through curriculum updating to prepare future nurses better to provide quality, safe and person-centered care.