Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
Back to contents page
A Grounded Theory of the Role of the Directors of Nursing in
Band One Teaching Hospitals in Ireland
Jenny Hogan BA (Hons), RGN, MSc
Professional Development Officer
The National Council for the Professional Development of
Nursing and Midwifery
jhogan@ncnm.ie
01 882 5314
It is commonly believed that concepts of power, authority and
influence are synonymous. Luthans (1992) suggests that power and
authority are separate but related concepts. He identifies power as
the ability to get an individual or group to do something, while
authority gives the person attempting to wield the power legitimacy
and is actually a source of power. Unlike authority, power is not
always nor does it need to be legitimate.
A grounded theory methodology was used to explore the role of a
sample of the Directors of Nursing in the Band One Teaching
Hospitals in Ireland. In-depth interviews were held with eleven
Directors of Nursing.
A grounded theory of 'Powerless Responsibility’ was identified. The
level of responsibility for keeping the hospital functioning is not
commensurate with the level of influence and/or power that
Directors of Nursing exert. Directors of Nursing in Band One
Hospitals in Ireland have responsibility for patient welfare and for
keeping the hospital functioning safely, but have very few
opportunities to influence the strategic direction of the hospital or
the wider health care system. All of this occurs against a backdrop
of working within a health service that is undergoing major
structural reforms (Health Service Reform Programme 2004) and
which has been identified as being ‘systemically maladministered’
(Travers 2005).
The study contributes to the body of knowledge about the role of
the Directors of Nursing in Ireland in Band One hospitals, by helping
to identify their position of Powerless Responsibility. The substantive
theory indicates that Directors of Nursing need to understand power
dynamics before they can successfully challenge the status quo. If
nursing is to overcome its fixation with repressive power and begin
to deconstruct nursing as an apolitical and powerless profession,
self awareness of the history of the nursing profession within a
feminist and sociological context must occur.
Back to contents page
- 410 -