A qualitative study of the experience of head nurses in supervising nursing staff in the outpatient department

Abstract

Background Outpatient services were a major aspect of hospital healthcare, primarily due to the prevalent inclination of individuals to seek efficient and expedient treatment options that could be provided within a single day. In this context, the experience of head nurses played a crucial role in providing optimum nursing care under supervision. This study aimed to explore the experience of head nurses in supervising nursing staff in the outpatient department. Method this study used a qualitative hermeneutic phenomenology design, and the participants were selected using the purposive sampling method. Result This study recruited a total of 20 head nurses in public and private hospitals in West Sumatra province. The FGD data were analyzed and coded using a total of 102 nodes, which were then used to generate 5 themes and 16 subthemes. The five major themes included the knowledge of head nurses about supervision, the performance appraisal method, the feeling of head nurses when supervising, the supervisor support for supervision, and the expectations of head nurses. Conclusion Clinical supervision in the outpatient department was crucial for the success of nurses in delivering healthcare services. The study revealed that while supervision was essential, head nurses observed that it was often perceived as fault-finding by nursing staff, which could affect individual assessment scores and sometimes led to indifference towards the process.