AN INVESTIGATION OF LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR OF INTERNATIONAL NURSES AFTER COMPLETING AN AMERICAN/CANADIAN GRADUATE NURSING EDUCATION PROGRAM.
Contributors: Loyola University of Chicago.
Published: 1987
Number of pages: 170
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Education, Higher.
Description: Purpose. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the self-perceived leadership behaviors of international nurses who have participated in graduate nursing education programs in the United States or Canada. A further purpose was to determine the contributions these nurses are currently making to nursing and health care in their native countries.

Methods of Research. The sample of this study is 160 international nurses selected from University of Illinois at Chicago and University of California-San Francisco Colleges of Nursing alumni mailing lists and from a list of W. K. Kellogg Foundation nurse fellows. Over 90 responses were received yielding 78 usable responses from the mailed questionnaires. The instruments used to collect data were the Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ), an Overall-Leader Evaluation (OLE) instrument, and a Demographic and Professional Characteristics Profile.

Results. The majority of 78 international nurses, representing over 20 countries, attended a graduate education program in one of 14 different institutions, mostly in the United States, between 1980-1985, specializing in areas such as psychiatric nursing, nursing administration, and maternal-child nursing. Almost 50% completed either a master's or doctorate, over 40% currently hold an academic faculty position, 31.9% work in an administrative position, and the majority are married and are between 36 and 45 years old. These nurses score high on both Initiating Structure and Consideration dimensions of the LBDQ and perceive their overall leadership effectiveness (OLE) to be quite high; however, no significant relationship exists between the OLE and scores on the LBDQ. Initiating Structure is statistically correlated with native country, degree obtained, length of educational program, college attended, and with program satisfaction. Only native country is significantly correlated with Consideration scores. Other professional characteristics, such as clinical specialty and current position, show no statistically significant relationship to LBDQ or OLE scores. Of particular importance is the documentation of contributions being made by these 78 international nurses to nursing and health care in their countries. Nine categories of contributions include: (1) teaching, (2) continuing education, (3) research, (4) administration, (5) clinical activities, (6) speeches, (7) publications, (8) professional activities, and (9) "other" contributions. Recommendations are given for education and research.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-05, Section: B, page: 1304.

Thesis (PH.D.)--LOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, 1987.

School code: 0112.