Abstract
BACKGROUND: Nurse team leaders are responsible for contributing to managing the quality of service delivery and facility output of their nurses to ensure there is a high quality of care delivered by the health system. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of public health nursing Team Leaders (TLs) and public health nursing Team Supervisors (TSs) on nurses' development in Fiji. METHODS: A qualitative study was used to gather information using in-depth phone interviews among TLs and TSs comprising Chief Midwifery Nursing Officer (CMNO), Director of Nursing (DON), Sub-divisional Nursing Managers (SDNMs), acting SDNMs and Nursing Manager (NM) at Central health division in Fiji. The data was collected through semi-structured open-ended questionnaires and were audio recorded. The data was analyzed using manual thematic analysis process. RESULTS: The study comprised of 26 participants, which included 10 TSs and 16 TLs. Four themes were identified for the results amongst TSs and TLs: ethical development; professional development; psychological development; and recommendations. However, nine sub- themes were identified for TSs and eight sub-themes were identified for the result amongst TLs. CONCLUSION: This study highlighted that TLs and TSs elaborated on the need for the ethical, professional, psychological development, nursing development and also on the importance of policies and guidelines. Professional ethics should be integrated into the Continuous Profession Development (CPD) points that are used to renew yearly nursing licenses as well as exposing the need for having competencies on professional ethics in nurses' logbooks. Further research is needed to determine the in-depth barriers.