Effect of Authentic Leadership Educational Program for Head Nurses on Staff Nurses' Organizational Commitment

Abstract

Context: Authentic leadership is required to build trust and achieve positive organizational outcomes. Organizational commitment acts as one of the outcomes of authentic leadership. Head nurses, as leaders can use an authentic leadership style that positively influence staff nurses and increase their organizational commitment.
Aim: The present study aimed to examine the effect of an authentic leadership education program for head nurses on staff nurses' organizational commitment.

Methods: A quasi-experimental research design was utilized to achieve the aim of the current study. The study was conducted in all inpatients units at Benha University Hospital, Egypt. Subjects included all available (32) head nurses and a purposive sample of (120) staff nurses who were working in the setting mentioned above. Three tools were utilized for data collection namely; the authentic leadership knowledge self-assessment questionnaire, the authentic leadership attitude self-assessment questionnaire, and the organizational commitment assessment questionnaire.

Results: There was a statistically significant correlational improvement in both the studied head nurses' knowledge and attitude regarding authentic leadership after implementation of the program. Besides, there was a statistically significant improvement of the studied staff nurses' organizational commitment after the implementation of the program. Also, there was a highly statistically significant correlation (P-value<0.001) between the studied head nurses' knowledge and attitude regarding authentic leadership and the studied staff nurses' organizational commitment post-program.

Conclusion: The study concluded that there was a positive effect of the authentic leadership education program for head nurses on the staff nurses' organizational commitment. The study recommended that an authentic leadership educational program should be recognized and implemented for all head nurses and those in a management position in the nursing field in other hospitals as needed. Hospital and Nursing administrators should do their best for keeping and enhancing staff nurses' organizational commitment.