Social capital and human capital of nurse managers and registered nurses

Abstract

Nurse managers and the teams of registered nurses they lead play a major role in the provision of healthcare outcomes nationally. Nursing leadership models have evolved with contemporary society and have shifted from hierarchical models to those based on interactive relationships. Traditional study of nurse managers and registered nurses has focused on human capital (acquired knowledge, skills, and experience). However, nurse managers and registered nurses must utilize human capital through a network of social relationships or social capital in order to produce positive healthcare outcomes. Little is known about human capital and social capital in nurse managers and registered nurses in the provision of healthcare outcomes. The purpose of this dissertation was to improve our understanding of the importance of human capital and social capital in nurse managers and the nurses. Specific aims included: 1) to explore and describe the concepts of human capital and social capital and to explore if human capital and social capital vary by individual characteristics/human capital attributes (such as education level or years of experience) or by organizational characteristics (such as hospital size or unit type); 2) to examine if human capital and social capital were related; and 3) to explore whether human capital and social capital were related to turnover intent and job satisfaction in a sample of nurse managers and registered nurses. A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional survey of 64 nurse managers and 1139 registered nurses in a 15 hospital healthcare system was conducted. Measures included human capital, social capital, individual characteristics, organizational characteristics, turnover intent, and job satisfaction. The four major findings of this study were: 1) nurse manager human capital is acquired primarily through experience in the role, 2) nurse manager human capital is positively related to social capital, 3) nurse manager and registered nurse social capital varies by individual and organizational characteristics, and 4) social capital is positively related to job satisfaction and negatively related to turnover intent. This dissertation provides the foundation for further research and targeted interventions for development of human and social capital of nurse managers and registered nurses.