DECISION-MAKING PRACTICES OF SENSING AND INTUITIVE NURSE EXECUTIVES.
Contributors: University of Pittsburgh.
Published: 1992
Number of pages: 239
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Business Administration, Management.; Psychology, Industrial.
Description: This study identified the perceptual preferences of nurse executives and examined the decision making practices of sensing and intuitive nurse executives. The study population consisted of 118 members of the Forum for Nurse Executives. The total sample was comprised of 66 nurse executive members and the subsample consisted of ten sensing and ten intuitive members.

The research was conducted as an exploratory, descriptive study utilizing selected demographic items, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and an interview schedule as instruments for data collection. The MBTI was utilized to identify the perceptual preferences of nurse executives on the sensing-intuition scale. Results indicated that the majority (60%) of this nurse executive sample preferred intuition while 39% preferred sensing.

The interview schedule was administered to a subsample of ten sensing and ten intuitive nurse executives. Results revealed that both sensing and intuitive respondents used the decision making process in similar ways. Small differences emerged in identification of the decision making situation and in the use of resources for gathering data. Sensing nurse executives were more likely to use information from others to identify a decision making situation while intuitive nurse executives relied more often on observation. Intuitive nurse executives more frequently reported the literature as a resource to obtain information for decision making than sensing nurse executives.

Sensing nurses executives described themselves as rapid decision makers more often than intuitive nurse executives. Both groups reported that education, experience and role models influenced their learning how to make decisions.

Findings from the study also indicated that both sensing and intuitive nurse executives used intuition to make decisions, willingly acknowledged using intuition to others, and trusted intuition in decision making situations. The study illustrates that intuition is beginning to be recognized as an influencing factor in the decision making practices of nurse executives. Implications exist for nurse educators to recognize intuition as a reliable source for enhancing the decision making ability of nurse executives and to incorporate intuition into curricular content related to decision making.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-05, Section: B, page: 2247.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, 1992.

School code: 0178.