Correlation of nurse leadership style to organizational commitment of foreign-educated nurses in U.S. hospitals

Recruitment and retention of foreign-educated nurses provides one possible solution to the current nursing shortage. The purpose of the study was to determine if a relationship existed between nursing leadership style and the level of organizational commitment of foreign-educated nurses. Using the Multifactorial Leadership Questionnaire to determine the leadership style of the nurse manager, and the Occupational Commitment Questionnaire to determine the commitment level of the foreign-educated nurse, a quantitative correlation study was completed. Transformational leaders had the greatest correlation with organizational commitment experienced by foreign-educated nurses, and laissez-faire leaders created an inverse relationship to commitment. Implications identified as a result of the study included leadership development and policy development to improve the existing state of affairs and the future of foreign-educated nurse recruitment.