Date of Paper/Work

5-2017

Type of Paper/Work

Doctor of Nursing Practice Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Nanette Hoerr

Department/School

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to implement a four-week educational practicum focused on the practice of caring leadership in a senior living home care setting and determine how this approach impacted the therapeutic interactions and leadership competencies of home care team members.

Background

Caring practice models have been implemented in various health care settings. However, little is known about what kinds of interventions can develop leadership effectively or how to evaluate the impact of leadership on health care providers’ use of caring behaviors in professional practice.

Design

Descriptive, mixed methods.

Methods

The Caring Assessment for Caregivers (CACG) instrument and the Leadership Practices Inventory – Self (LPI-S) instrument measured change in therapeutic interactions and leadership skills, respectively, before (pre-survey N = 24) and after (post-survey N = 15) facilitating multi-site practicum sessions for caring leadership practice enculturation.

Findings

Among practicum participants, the mean change from baseline for the LPI-S and CACG subscales represented statistically significant improvement in all variables (P=0.0009 LPI-S; P=0.006 CACG). The themes and subthemes identified suggest leadership and relational expertise can be described within the context of professional, relationship-based practice.

Conclusion

The caring leader practicum intervention, a low-cost, workplace approach, was successful in impacting the outcome variables in a short 4-week time period.

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