Predictably the nurse managers had a stronger operational and unit focus than the line managers or nurse educators. This group wanted the nurse educator to be self-initiating and to provide educational support and advice to all staff in line with the core business of the unit. This meant that nurse educators needed to understand the culture and boundaries of each work unit and to adapt their actions and interactions in constructing a culture of learning. Developing a sense of belonging was the responsibility of the nurse educator. Yet the nurse educator could not achieve in isolation and needed transparency in what was required and what the requirements meant if services were to meet learning needs.
Further, the nurse unit manager group expected the nurse educator to support practice standards, set up systems, build capacity and develop strategic direction. A nurse unit manager explained that:
Nurse educators are essential as they understand the industry and the environment in which they work and then contextualise programs, skills, communication and leadership to adapt to the needs of both the organisation and profession while supporting the core business of providing safe care. IDI NUM 1 (10). L 56.
Engagement and effective communication between the nurse unit manager and nurse educator were identified as part of the role and the educator was expected to take the lead role in coordinating and monitoring nursing education activities. For some nurse unit managers this was one less activity that they, the manager, need be responsible for and in most cases they were well supported by nurse educators in this endeavour. A participant explains:
I think an educator plays a vital role in respect to being a resource person and supporting nurses to advance their practice and be interested in education and research. As a manager I need an educator who is able to do that and be a liaison person who is able to help in terms of resources, programs and running programs. They need to be engaged and make the role their own rather than sit back and watch. IDI NUM 1 (1). L 11 / 97.
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In situations where nurse unit managers perceived that they were not well supported (e.g. a nurse educator was not providing services to the standard expected by the nurse unit manager or lacking visibility) they looked for, and in most instances found, alternatives such as ramping or modifying the clinical nurse facilitator role. These substitute staff undertook extra education and support responsibilities and looked to their line managers and others to assist in addressing issues. Two nurse managers described their experience:
It’s an extremely valuable role and certainly makes my life as a nurse unit manager personally and organisationally much easier. I feel that a lot of the whole area of staff development and training I can delegate to the clinical teachers knowing the educator has overseen it and will manage what is required. IDI NUM 1 (3). L 438.
Most of the people in my unit actually deal with the clinical facilitator although they are aware who the educator is. I have found that staff knowledge of the nurse educator depends squarely on the individual educator. IDI NUM 1 (7). L 31 / 39.
Here again the perception was that the nurse educator existed as a support to the nurse unit manager and thus could be delegated activities to the extent that one nurse unit manager referred to an educator ‘as my wing man’. The unit managers made a concerted effort to supervise the nurse educator who was generally seen as an outside resource who should be available to act as the nurse unit manager deemed appropriate. The concept of power is related to the perception of self in relation to another and therefore as perceptions vary so will the nature of relationships formed in the workplace (Salin, 2003; Zapf & Einarsen, 2003). Thus nurse managers tended to judge the work of nurse educators in terms of how they perceived the importance of their own role. This group self-defined as the main protagonists in wanting the nurse educator on the floor, filling in, or being available to take a direct patient workload. For example, nurse educators sometimes undertook direct care in situations of increased unit workloads and emergency leave. Indeed, an effective nurse educator was described as one whose views and actions were closely aligned to those of the nurse unit manager. This led to feelings of nurse educator frustration and humiliation that as equals they were obliged to account for their time and activities and to make concessions to be on the floor to fulfill others’ expectations. That the nurse educator was to be visible and available on demand meant that this role was perceived as an additional resource, not only for the line manager but for
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the nurse unit manager. The educator role therefore assumed a remarkable flexibility.
Flexibility as a defining feature was engendered in the view that educators were not as busy as others because they were not managing wards and so had excess time. This was because educators were viewed as unburdened by either line manager responsibilities or a direct clinical workload. The nurse educator existed as an operational resource to be available on demand to assist in mitigating work unit risks and at the discretion of the nurse unit manager. Nurse unit managers described their expectations as follows:
It really depends on what it is. I mean there have been a couple days when I‘ve actually phoned my nurse educator and said to her ‘if you don’t have much on, would you mind just coming on the floor’. I may have 50–60 % casual agency or casuals and three new graduates on. Then it’s about very much working one on one and providing care to achieve safe standards of practice for safety for my patients and the ward but support to me. Her support is invaluable to the staff on the floor. IDI NUM 1 (7). L 187 /191.
I need the nurse educator to be available on the ward and be there the majority of the time as things happen all of a sudden so they should there to keep the group up to speed as there is such a vast scope and vast amount of things that we do every day. They are sometimes responsible for everything that no one else wants. IDI NUM 1 (6). L 176 / 200 / 204.
Yet some nurse unit managers perceived nurse educators as their associates or people employed at the same classification who they could trust. The educators were considered to generally give impartial advice, support and leadership to both the nurse unit manager and staff in the work unit. Someone of a similar standing professionally was seen as helpful. This reinforced a situation where the nurse educator was expected to act differently within different contexts to conform to nurse unit manager expectations. This created tension when the nurse educator was unable to determine what was required in a given situation and attempted to work from the perspective of a trusted associate. Thus nurse unit managers saw collaboration while nurse educators saw adaptation. Two nurse unit managers explained that:
It’s an excellent relationship (and) one of the particularly positive things for me about the relationship is that it’s someone that I can talk to. The individual in the role has provided some mentoring in terms of my succession planning to the nurse unit manager role. It’s someone who is
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linked to the program (i.e. work unit) but also sits a little outside some of the politics. IDI NUM 1 (3). L 122.
We are both essentially managers but from different perspectives. I see my role with my educator as a collaborative on a lot of issues. It’s consultative and it’s good to get somebody else’s perspective and bounce ideas. She’s actually a support to me…So there is a degree of collaboration and we both encourage the culture, standards and ongoing professional development for our staff. IDI NUM 1 (7). L 43 / 167.
It appears from the above that relationships between nurse unit managers and nurse educators were characterised by a power struggle over implementation of education services where the educator was most often in a losing position. As one nurse educator put it:
I think the bottom line of my role is to support the nurse unit manager… If I don’t maintain a positive relationship I have trouble having staff released for education. IDI NE 1 (11). L 12.
The nurse educator position had value but perceptions of that value varied depending on relationships formed, the visibility and engagement of the nurse educator, and how nurse educator activities conformed to the clinical priorities of the work unit. Expectations of nurse managers are linked inherently to the other category identified in this research, constructing workplace learning.