4.5.1. Support from the Managers
Nursing managers are widely accepted as the most influential force in staff satisfaction and retention because of their role in work environments. Hospital management protects and provides staff with the resources to do their job. Within the clinical settings, managers are consistent in their presence; uniquely positioned with a front-row view of the intricacies of nurse-patient, nurse-physician, and nurse-interdisciplinary team dynamics. Hospitals, together with nursing managers, are expected to oversee the daily demands of unit operations while developing an environment that fosters nursing excellence and promotes an engaged nursing staff. On the other hand, nursing managers are the vital link between hospital senior executives and direct care nurses. Good management makes a hospital meet its complex target. Below are the comments made by the participants:
Nurse (N5) commented positively saying that: “we do receive full support that we need in the wards from the managers. But we are happy of the fact that the hospital CEO does support us, and the nursing service manager gives us support.”
Nurse (N6) also commented that: “Hmmm we believe that for now we just need a special support from the management and all TB programme leaders, to give us more knowledge and skills on TB.”
Nurse (N3) indicated that: “I believe that as a nurse it is more crucial that we have meetings with the doctors and other management staff.”
According to the findings of the present study even though the support structure from the management is available, there is a need for special support for TB patients. Lack of support from the management confuses the nursing staff and causes staff to lose interest in their job. The findings of this study concur with those of the study by Manyisa and van Aswegen [28], which revealed that South African hospitals’ working environments lack resources and managerial support.