Learning Groups in Training Programs for Nurse Managers: A Method to Enhance Nursing and Leadership Capabilities

Introduction: Employing management skills directs staff performance. This study was done to determine the effects of management development programs by learning groups’ technique, on the leadership styles of nurse managers as well as staff nurse empowerment. Methods: A pre-experimental study was performed as one-group with pre and post-test in a teaching hospital in Tehran during the year 2004. All nurse managers (n=20) and staff nurses (n=111) in that hospital participated in the study. The Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ) and Workplace Empowerment Questionaire were used for measuring leadership styles and staff empowerment before and one month after intervention. Learning groups were formed through discussion sessions about managerial behavior in case scenarios which had happened in that hospital. The data analysis using descriptive statistics, Paired T, and Mc Nemar was done by SPSS. Results: The Comparative analysis showed that nurse managers rated their own leadership styles similarly before and after intervention, while from staff nurses’ viewpoints, it significantly changed. Also, there was a difference between staff empowerment before and after intervention. Conclusion: The management development program with applying "Learning- Groups" method will change leadership behavior in nurse managers and this positive effect could be approved by staff nurses and promote their empowerment. Thus, this method is recommended.