Indicators of Head Nurses' Span of Control and Its Relation to Staff Nurses' Job Involvement

Background: Span of control indicates that the head nurses need to meet the aimsof the healthcare organization through controlling nurses' behaviors in the effortsto forecast nurses' productivity, resignation rates, and job involvement. Aim: toassess the indicators of head nurses' span of control and its relation to staff nurses'job involvement. Subjects and Method: Research design: A descriptive-correlational research design was utilized to conduct this study. Setting: Thestudy was conducted at all departments of El Santa Central Hospital. Subjects:All head nurses and 510 nurses working full time at El Santa CentralHospital. Tools: Tool I: Span of Control Indicators Structured Questionnaire andTool II: Staff Nurses' Job Involvement Scale. Results: Related to overall spancharacteristics. More than half (57.9%) of head nurses and about three-quarters(72.5%) of staff nurses reported a narrow span of control. While, overall span ofcontrol indicators over two-thirds (67.1%- 68.6 %) of head nurses and staff nursesreported A low level of span of control that meant head nurses were capable ofgrowth. More than two-thirds (69.8%) of staff nurses had a high level of overalljob involvement. Conclusion: There was a highly significant positive correlationbetween indicators of head nurses' span of control and staff nurses' jobinvolvement. Recommendation: Head nurses can use these findings to motivatestaff nurses to express their opinion and enhance their leadership competencies,provide ongoing monitoring for staff nurses and evaluate their strengths and areasneeding improvement.