Dimensions of Clinical Leadership Behaviours Among Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study Between Two Countries.

Abstract

Background: Effective leadership is associated with high-quality and compassionate care. Teaching leadership in nursing education is essential if students are to develop competencies in this area (Brown et al., 2016, Jack et al., 2022). Objectives: To explore undergraduate students’ self-perceptions of clinical leadership behaviours and differences in self-perceptions of leadership behaviours between countries. Design and Methods: A cross-sectional anonymous online survey design was used with two cohorts of undergraduate nursing students in UK and Israel following ethical approval. The Self-Assessment Leadership Instrument (SALI) (Es-SALI, Linares et al. 2020) measuring four leadership dimensions was used in English and Hebrew. A web-based survey using Qualtrics online software was emailed to students during October 2021-April 2022. Ethics: Ethical approval was granted by both sites, England and Israel. Results: The response rate was 27% (Israel) and 18% (England) with 138 responses overall. Significant differences were found between the two cohorts in the leadership dimensions: “Emotional Intelligence” England M= 3.22 (SD 0.54) V Israeli M= 3.02 (SD 0.54) and “Impact and Influence” England M= 3.13 (SD 0.58) V Israeli M= 2.97 (SD 0.53) (p<.05), with UK students scoring higher across both dimensions. In the Israeli cohort only, significant differences were found in leadership dimensions according to year of study, reporting higher scores in 3rd and 4th year students when compared with 1st and 2nd years in each of the four dimensions (p<.05). Conclusions: This study confirms differences in students’ clinical leadership perception between two international cohorts of nursing students, with statistical differences between study years noted within the Israeli cohort only. The need for enhanced leadership skills to prepare future nurses to provide quality, safe and person-centred care is strengthened. More evidence is needed to understand antecedents in the development of clinical leadership behaviours. Nurse educators must continue to expand this international research base.