Managing Professional Learning in Aged Residential Care Settings

Abstract

This research focuses on the management of professional learning and development (PLD) for nursing staff in aged residential care settings from the perspective of clinical managers. The research question was: What strategies and barriers are present in the professional development of nurses in aged healthcare in Whakatū Nelson? This study uses an inductive constructivist strategy to explore this question. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from five participating organisations. All organisations were medium-sized aged-care services in the Nelson Tasman region. Inductive thematic analysis was used to organise and interpret the data to construct findings that provide insight into the experiences of the participating professional leaders. The strategies adopted by clinical managers were found to be PLD and performance management alongside the use of diverse tools to engage nurses in PLD. Shortage of time for managing PLD processes and lack of funding were found to be key barriers experienced by clinical managers in managing PLD for nurses. This paper contributes to the literature on leadership and management in aged-care settings by highlighting the experiences of a group of clinical managers in a small Aotearoa New Zealand city.