Effect of Head Nurses’ Workplace Polarity Management Educational Intervention on Their Coaching Behavior

Purpose. To maintain the quality of patients care, head nurses (HNs) are confronting various contradicting issues that require the ability to manage polarities and concern coaching behaviors as exploring situations, building alliances, and maintaining communication with nurses. This study aimed to explore the effect of HNs’ workplace polarity management educational intervention on their coaching behaviors. Design. A quasiexperimental (pre-posttest) research design was used. Method. This study was conducted at Tanta International Teaching Hospital, on 12 HNs and 300 nurses using three tools: (I) a polarity management knowledge questionnaire; (II) a polarity map evaluation observational checklist; and (III) a nurses’ perception of the HNs’ coaching leadership behaviors questionnaire. The statistical tests used were as follows: the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, the significance of the obtained results was judged at the 5% level; the marginal homogeneity test, ANOVA with repeated measures, the Wilcoxon signed ranks test, and the Friedman test. The study was conducted between end of 2021 and beginning of 2022. The educational intervention included 3 sessions: polarity management and the keys to manage it, polarity map (stability versus change), and head nurses’ role in managing polarity and how it reflects on their coaching leadership behavior. HNs’ ability to practice polarity management was classified into levels according to cutoff points: high >75%, moderate 60–75%, and low <60%. Results. Before intervention (66.7%, 100%) of head nurses had poor knowledge and low practice that changed after 3 months of intervention to be 58.3% and 41.7%, respectively. Before and 3 months after the intervention (70.0%, 33.7%) of nurses perceived that head nurses had a low and a moderate level of coaching, respectively. 70.0% of working nurses reported that they noticed that head nurses' coaching behaviors were low before the educational intervention, but the percentage decreased by half three months after the educational intervention. Conclusion. Implementing the educational intervention for head nurses about workplace polarity management significantly correlated with the nurses’ perception of their HNs’ coaching behaviors.