Unveiling The Mystery Of Covenantal Trust: The Theory of the Social Process Between the Nurse Manager and the Chief Nursing Officer

The purpose of the research was to explore the social process of trust between the
chief nursing officer and the nurse manager in the hospital setting. The researcher used
the grounded theory method to analyze the nurse manager-chief nursing officer
relationship from the perspective of the nurse manager.
A total of 12 participants were interviewed by the researcher. The sample
consisted of nurse managers employed in hospitals in the southeastern United States.
Data analysis consisted of open coding and constant comparative analysis. Resulting
categories consisted of preparing to trust, co-creating trust and co-creating the trusting
environment. The basic social process of the nurse manager-chief nursing officer trusting
relationship in healthcare was the substantive theory of Striving to Live the Golden Rule
which refers to living the nurse manager-chief nursing officer ethical relationship in a nursing environment where trust may be difficult to establish. The formal theory
generated was the essential link between Striving to Live the Golden Rule to Living the
Golden Rule as Unveiling the Mystery of Covenantal Trust. The overall results of this
research demonstrated the process of trust between the nurse manager and chief nursing
officer as essential to the overall relationship and to the success of both.