Work Life Stress and Career Resilience of Licensed Nursing Facility Administrators

• Published in: Journal of applied gerontology Vol. 37; no. 4; pp. 435 - 463
• Main Authors: Myers, Dennis R., Rogers, Rob, LeCrone, Harold H., Kelley, Katherine, Scott, Joel H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-04-2018; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Careers; Evidence-based practice; Health services; Long term health care; Medical personnel; Medicare; Nurses; Nursing; Occupational stress; Qualitative research; Research applications; Resilience; Stress; Work skills; career resilience; work stressors; retention; job satisfaction; nursing facility administrators
• ISSN: 0733-4648; 1552-4523
• DOI: 10.1177/0733464816665207

Career resilience provided a frame for understanding how Licensed Nursing Facility Administrators (LNFAs) sustain role performance and even thrive in stressful skilled nursing facility work environments. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of in-depth interviews with18 LNFAs, averaging 24 years of experience were conducted by a five-member research team. Analysis was informed by evidence-based frameworks for career resilience in the health professions as well as the National Association of Long-Term Care Administrator Boards’ (NAB) five domains of competent administrative practice. Findings included six sources of work stressors and six sources of professional satisfaction. Also, participants identified seven strategic principles and 10 administrative practices for addressing major sources of stress. Recommendations are provided for research and evidence-based application of the career resilience perspective to LNFA practice aimed at reducing role abandonment and energizing the delivery of the quality of care that each resident deserves.