| The health care environment is transforming with new demands and expectations to improve patient outcomes including patient satisfaction. Health care organizations expect front line nurse managers to improve patient quality and satisfaction without a clear direction or meaningful understanding of the holistic role, functions, and competencies required to achieve organizational goals. The purpose of the qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of the holistic and changing nature of the projected contemporary nurse manager's roles, skills, practices, and dimensions aligned with the expectations for improving patient satisfaction. The exploration of the lived experiences and perceptions among 21 study participants, and data analysis using the modified van Kaam approach, led to the formulation of eight major themes that explained the nature of the experience with the phenomenon. The eight essential themes that encompass the context of the new contemporary and holistic role of the nurse manager to improve patient satisfaction include the following; (a) new expectations, (b) building a patient caring culture, (c) leader rounding, (d) healthy working environment, (e) staff engagement and empowerment, (f) change agent for continuous quality improvement, (g) impact of organization focus and culture, (h) challenges: sustainability of initiatives; lack of interdepartmental and interdisciplinary teamwork. The new proposed nurse manager role in transformation conceptual model aligns nurse manager contemporary and holistic role with transforming cultures for improved patient outcomes. The study findings are significant to health care organization, leaders, policy makers, and educators, in creating new patient caring and healthy working cultures for improved patient satisfaction. |
