Psychiatric charge nurse leadership education and its impact on the patient experience
Title
Psychiatric charge nurse leadership education and its impact on the patient experience
Creator
Huber, Jami
Description
Huber, Jami
Charge nurses play a critical role in the functioning of nursing units, balancing clinical responsibilities with other duties such as supporting staff and coordinating patient care. Despite the complexity and significance of the charge nurse role, there is little to no formalized education for the charge nurse role. This lack of charge nurse education is common across many nursing units, but there is a noted gap in psychiatric units. Psychiatric settings present unique challenges, such as managing behavioral events while ensuring patient and staff safety. Charge nurses may feel unprepared to lead effectively under these complex conditions without appropriate leadership education. This project aimed to equip psychiatric charge nurses with leadership, communication, and decision-making skills needed to improve the patient experience. Through targeted education using evidence-based strategies, this project sought to enhance charge nurses' confidence, competence, and performance, ultimately improving the patient experience and charge nurse confidence. Although statistical significance was not achieved for the measures “communication between staff” (2023: M = 42.67, SD = 4.04; 2024: M = 46.67, SD = 3.06; t(4) = -1.37, p = .24) and “likelihood to recommend this facility” (2023: M = 52.9, SD = 15.59; 2024: M = 45.1, SD = 15.62; t(4) = .55, p = 0.61), this project demonstrated clinical significance in perceived benefits of the education. Additional findings highlighted the importance of leadership support, ongoing education, and the use of theoretical frameworks in charge nurse leadership education. Future research should continue to investigate ways to support and strengthen charge nurse leadership in psychiatric settings. Future recommendations are also discussed to guide continued development in this area.
Charge nurses play a critical role in the functioning of nursing units, balancing clinical responsibilities with other duties such as supporting staff and coordinating patient care. Despite the complexity and significance of the charge nurse role, there is little to no formalized education for the charge nurse role. This lack of charge nurse education is common across many nursing units, but there is a noted gap in psychiatric units. Psychiatric settings present unique challenges, such as managing behavioral events while ensuring patient and staff safety. Charge nurses may feel unprepared to lead effectively under these complex conditions without appropriate leadership education. This project aimed to equip psychiatric charge nurses with leadership, communication, and decision-making skills needed to improve the patient experience. Through targeted education using evidence-based strategies, this project sought to enhance charge nurses' confidence, competence, and performance, ultimately improving the patient experience and charge nurse confidence. Although statistical significance was not achieved for the measures “communication between staff” (2023: M = 42.67, SD = 4.04; 2024: M = 46.67, SD = 3.06; t(4) = -1.37, p = .24) and “likelihood to recommend this facility” (2023: M = 52.9, SD = 15.59; 2024: M = 45.1, SD = 15.62; t(4) = .55, p = 0.61), this project demonstrated clinical significance in perceived benefits of the education. Additional findings highlighted the importance of leadership support, ongoing education, and the use of theoretical frameworks in charge nurse leadership education. Future research should continue to investigate ways to support and strengthen charge nurse leadership in psychiatric settings. Future recommendations are also discussed to guide continued development in this area.
Date
2025
Publisher
Alverno College
Extent
119 pages
Language
English
Format
PDF
Type
Text
DNP Project
Subject
Nursing services--Administration
Psychiatric nurses--Training of
Leadership--Study and teaching
Psychiatric nursing
Charge nurse
Leadership education
Rights
These materials may be used by individuals and libraries for personal use, research, teaching (including distribution to classes), or for any fair use as defined by U.S. Copyright Law.
Collection
Citation
Huber, Jami, “Psychiatric charge nurse leadership education and its impact on the patient experience,” Alverno College Library Digital Commons, accessed June 14, 2026, https://alverno.omeka.net/items/show/976.