Role of Nursing Managers in Enhancing the Clinical Decision-Making Skills of Critical Care Nurses in Yaoundé-Cameroon: A Qualitative Study

Purpose: This study aims at exploring the role of nurse managers in decision-making in 4 referral hospitals in Yaoundé-Cameroon. Methodology: The study used a qualitative exploratory design using semi-structured interview guides as data collection instruments. The study population was made up of 15 nurse managers (frontline, middle-level, and top-level managers) from four referral hospitals in Yaoundé-Cameroon. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview guide from a purposeful sample of nurse managers. The saturation level determined the sample size for the study. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Findings: There was a diversity in the role of nurse managers in developing the clinical decision-making skills of critical care nurses. Professional recognition, advocacy, and teamwork were the categories generated from the managers' views on nurses’ participation in institutional meetings. Nine managers viewed effective recognition and reward system as the main motivation system for empowering nurses in clinical decision-making. Administrative meetings and rounds, basic materials and skills, interdisciplinary collaboration and standardization of care were the main strategies used by nurse managers to support decision-making in critical care. Subordination of nurses, lack of qualified staff, and infrequent organization of seminars, and meetings involving nurses were the major challenges they faced. Unique contributions to theory, practice, and policy: Findings from the study proposed that hospital nurse managers should employ various strategies to motivate nurses in decision-making by installing an effective recognition and reward system, involving them in institutional meetings, and creating a collaborative environment that favors nurse’s autonomy in decision-making.