Nurse administrators

The purpose of this phenomenological research was to capture the experience of caring in the lived world of the nurse managers. Interviews with six nurse managers were utilized to generate data and then transcribed into text. The researcher's analysis of the data followed the phenomenological method as interpreted by Ray. Essential themes of growth, listening, frustration, intuition, support, and receiving of gifts were described by participants. Variant themes of touch, humor, flexibility, counseling, limitations, and competence also emerged. Interpretive themes of nurses' way of being, reciprocal caring, and caring moment as transcendence unfolded. A metatheme of energy emerged from further analysis. Deeper reflection and intuition afforded the researcher the opportunity to grasp the unity of meaning as a metaphorical snowflake and poetic expression.

This research study addresses the personal, professional and organizational values held by nurse administrators, utilizing the phenomenological method of Paul Colaizzi (1978). The study investigates the values of eight nurse administrators in two acute care hospitals. Based on the significant statements which were formulated into clusters of themes and the formulation of essential values and themes, three common values emerged: communication, education, and honesty. A better understanding of these values will help guide nurse administrators in their current roles.