Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 93 ( 2013 ) 560 564

1877-0428 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Selection and peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Ferhan Odaba
doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.09.239
ScienceDirect
3rd World Conference on Learning, Teaching and Educational Leadership (WCLTA-2012)
Opinions of nurse academicians on leadership
Birsel Canan Demirba

*, Havva ztrk
Health Science Faculty, Karadeniz Technical University, 61080, Trabzon, Turkey

Abstract
This study was conducted with a total of 72 nurse academicians to identify the opinions of academician nurses on leadership and
the factors which affect their leadership qualities in Turkey. Data was collected with a questionnaire consisting of 7 questions.
Among the nurse academicians in the study, 89% perceived themselves as a leader; 81%, however, stated that their heavy work
load affected them negatively. No significant difference was found between the position of the academicians and their
perceptions of themselves as leaders (p>0.05).
2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer review under the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Ferhan Odaba
Keywords: Leadership; nurse, nursing; nurse academicians.
1. Introduction
Nursing is patently significant in terms of ensuring that academician nurses who educate the nursing workforce
have the qualities of leadership and are able to make use of these qualities to perpetuate the education of qualified
nurses. It is a fact, however, that the many obstacles academician nurses face over the course of their work weakens
or even completely impedes their leadership powers (Ard & Ba, 2004; Pullen 2003; Davies 2003). The
obligations of academician nurses include the duties of a student, achieving academic advancement, facing
economic problems, coping with interpersonal relationships, administrative pressures, the issues brought about by
woman's role in the household and in the workplace, all while nurses are constantly making the effort to set a
balance between work and family life (Canbulat, 2007, zgr et al. 2007, Yldrm & am, 2009). This situation
reduces nurse academicians' motivation with respect to their careers, as well as their productivity and the quality of
their performance, leading the way to burnout, and hindering their progress along the road to leadership (Gnen et
al. 2004; Kanste et al 2009, am & Yldrm, 2011). Despite the adversities, however, academician nurses need to
develop their leadership qualities, feel like leaders, and reflect this in their work with their group of colleagues. This
is important because studies have shown that positive leadership behavior has a positive impact on the satisfaction
levels and the emotional well-being of the followers of that leader (ztrk et al. 2012; Dierckx et al 2008; Neilsen et
al. 2009; Kanste et al 2009). Moreover, it has been seen that when followers (staff or students) feel admiration, trust
and respect for the leader, they will be more willing to achieve and exceed expectations (Deirckx de Casterle et al.
2008; Marguis and Huston 2006; Vandenberghe, Stordeur and Dhoore 2002, McGuire E., Kennerly S.M. 2006). It
is clear, however, that there is a shortage of leaders in the professional nursing world, meaning that there are not

* Birsel Canan Demirba: Tel.: 90-462-2300476
E-mail address: cdemirbag@gmail.com
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Selection and peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Ferhan Odaba
561 Birsel Canan Demirba and Havva zt rk / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 93 ( 2013 ) 560 564
enough leaders to identify issues, increase nursing success, and strengthen and enrich the profession of nursing
(Karada, 2002). In the context of addressing this important issue, academician nurses play a significant role in
educating leader nurses, becoming in fact role models who mobilize and lead the nursing group along the required
path. This study was planned to identify the opinions of academician nurses on leadership and the factors that affect
their leadership qualities.
2. Method
The study was carried out in April-May 2012 in Turkey. Academician nurses who worked at 4 universities as
well as at the university of the researchers were selected as a simple random sample and constituted the general
population of the study. There were a total of 99 academician nurses working at the selected universities at the time
of the research. Forty-nine of the nurses responded to the questionnaire. Over the same period, a workshop program
was organized on leadership and nursing for academician nurses in which the researchers' university also
participated (Hemsirelikte Liderlik Workshop 2012).). The nature of the study was explained to the 25 academician
nurses attending the program and 23 of these nurses volunteered to answer the questionnaires. Thus, the study was
completed with a total of 72 academicians. All of the academicians participating in the study were women. Data was
collected with a questionnaire developed by the study researchers and consisted of 7 questions related to
demographic features, leadership qualities and factors affecting leadership in nurse academicians. In the data
collection process, the academicians working at the 4 universities were sent the questionnaire via the Internet, hard
copies were provided to the academicians working at the researchers' university and face-to-face interviews were
conducted with the academicians in the workshop program. During the process, the purpose of the study was
explained to the participants either in writing or verbally. The SPSS 15.0 program was used in the statistical analysis
and the data was evaluated numerically, and using percentages, means, and the chi-square.
3. Results
Of the academician nurses, 65% were married and 35% were single. It was determined that 35% of the group
had been working as academicians for 11-15 years, 24% for 16-20 years, 23% for 6-10 years, 7% for 21-25 years,
7% for 26 years or more and 6% for 1-5 years. In the distribution of academic positions in the group, 43% were
lecturers, 25% assistant professors, 17% associate professors, 7% professors, 6% research assistants, and 1%
specialists or instructors. Among the academician nurses, 89% perceived themselves as leaders while 11% stated
that they were not leader. When the reasons these academicians provided as to why they felt like leaders were
considered, it was found that 40% attributed this to a positive approach and to problem solving skills, 26% to having
a vision, 26% to having the ability to exhibit trustworthiness, while 22% attributed their feelings to being able to
serve as a role model to students (Table 1). When the reasons offered by academicians who did not perceive
themselves as leaders were examined, it was seen that 8% attributed this to having no time/experiencing
administrative pressures and 8% to the belief that they did not have the needed leadership qualities (Table 1).
When the problems that prevent academicians from becoming leaders were evaluated, it was seen that 81% of
the academicians stated that they were overly busy, 71% pointed to the pressures exerted by administrators, 60% to
unequal opportunities and being situated in a remote area, and 58% indicated that the problem was the inadequacy
of leadership education (Table 2).
A comparison of the status of academician nurses' perceiving themselves as leaders and their demographic
characteristics showed that there was no significant relationship between academic degree (X
2
=1.92, p>0.05) or the
duration the individual had been an academician and feeling like a leader (X
2
=0.54, p>0.05).





562 Birsel Canan Demirba and Havva zt rk / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 93 ( 2013 ) 560 564

Table 1. Reasons why academician nurses fell like or do not fell like leaders

*Reasons for feeling like a leader n %
I approach problems with a positive slant/I find solutions 29 40
I have vision 19 26
I instill trust in others 19 26
I am able to lead a group of nurses 17 24
I am able to be a role model to students 16 22
I am assertive and I don't give up when I know I'm right 16 22
I'm honest and hard-working 15 21
I am able to think critically 14 19
I have the ability to collaborate with the community 14 19
I am respectful 13 18
I am fair/flexible/objective in my thinking 13 18
I am engaged in some joint professional projects 12 17
I do well when working with a team 11 15
I can lead groups in research and publications 9 13
*Reasons for not feeling like a leader n %
I have no time 6 8
I am experiencing administrative pressures 6 8
Being a leader isn't easy, I don't have the talent 4 6
I'm a woman and a mother, I have a lot of responsibilities and I'm very busy 4 6
I don't have the right training for this 3 4
I don't have enough experience 3 4
*More than one response was given
Table 2. Factors standing in the way of becoming a leader from the perspective of academician nurses
*Factors preventing leadership n %
Being too busy/time constraints 58 81
Pressures from administrators 51 71
Unequal opportunities/being located in a remote area 43 60
Deficiency in leadership education 42 58
Psychological dejection/disgust 32 44
Inadequate support among academicians 29 40
Obstruction of administrative promotions at the university 28 39
Deficiencies in health policies/political dimension 25 35
Being a woman/mother 21 29
Difficulties in obtaining permissions/having articles published 13 18
Negative attitudes of professional peers 8 11
Unawareness of the need for academician leaders 6 8
Clinical inadequacies of academicians 6 8
Pressures exerted on nurse leaders by administrators in the university 6 8
No professional organization 4 6
Why isn't there one? 3 4
Personal/professional/social values cannot be upheld 3 4
Not being open to innovation 3 4
563 Birsel Canan Demirba and Havva zt rk / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 93 ( 2013 ) 560 564
4. Discussion and conclusion
"Academician" is defined as "a general professional title that is granted to individuals who have completed their
education at a university or similar institution of higher learning, who engage in research and original study to
contribute to the academic area in which they have received their degrees." (Erdem 2008) A leader is an individual
that is able to affect other people and create a willing change of behavior to produce a desired result (Huber 2000;
Yoder-Wise 2003). Leadership is therefore the process of ensuring that individuals are organized around a leader to
achieve a common goal, with that leader heading the planned actions that will make it possible for the others in the
group to expend more energy and effort to attain the desired goal (Huber 2000; Yoder-Wise 2003). In this context,
the existence of academicians that are good leaders is of essential importance in terms of educating the prospective
leaders of the future. The academicians in this study were in the majority individuals who saw themselves as leaders.
This is an encouraging outcome with respect to the future initiatives of the student nurses of today who will be the
product of the education provided by today's academician nurses. Various studies indicate that leadership can be
learned in a program of nursing education and advise that educator leaders/academicians provide student nurses with
the education that will teach them skills related to two-way communication, self-knowledge, reading body language,
creativity, showing empathy, taking risks and management (Pullen 2003; Davies 2003). Leader educators are needed
to ensure that students develop these skills.
Exhibiting leadership behavior is not solely dependent upon the individual and is a result of the effects of
various factors (zmen, 2009). Some studies have reported that a great many academician nurses are required to
complete more than one task within a specified period of time and that because of this, they experience time
constraints, administrative pressures, and feel as if they are being made to do certain things against their will
(Canbulat et al. 2007; Yldrm & am 2009). In a study by am (2001), it has been asserted that burnout levels in
academician nurses are mostly affected by work/administrative pressures and personal perceptions of achievement
(am, 2001). In the present study, the main factors that hinder leadership were shown to be heavy workloads and
pressures exerted by administrators.
The academicians working at Turkey's universities and research institutions consist of educators (research
assistants, instructors, specialists, lecturers) and faculty members (assistant professors, associate professors,
professors) who have different academic qualifications. It has been noted that of these academicians, burnout is
experienced more profoundly by research assistants, lecturers, instructor/specialists and assistant professors, in that
order (am and Yldrm 2011). This study, comprising in the majority academicians who are educators and
assistant professors, also showed that academicians complained of heavy workloads and pressures from superiors.
The results of the study were consistent with those of am and Yldrm. There was no significant correlation found
in this study, however, between academic position and feeling like a leader. Studies by Gencay (2001) and Acar
(2001) that show no correlation between an individual's age and professional development support the results of the
present study.
In summary, improvements must be made to eradicate the obstacles that stand in the way of academician nurses
becoming good leaders and educating more leaders. The increase in the quality of services made possible through
the existence of leader academicians will in turn contribute to increasing the number of professionally satisfied
nurses that provide quality health services. This will consequently lead to producing a nursing population that will
work with contemporary principles, goals and targets. Conducting the same study with a larger group of
academician nurses will also be beneficial in terms of clearly pointing to the importance of this issue.



564 Birsel Canan Demirba and Havva zt rk / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 93 ( 2013 ) 560 564
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