Background and Objectives: Leadership style of head-nurses and clinical competency of nurses have a crucial role in developing of healthcare services quality. Recent studies showed differences between leadership styles and clinical competency of nurses in public and private hospitals. Therefore , this study aimed to assess leadership styles of head-nurses and clinical competency of nurses in public and private hospitals of Ahvaz.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 67 head-nurses and 335 nurses in public and private hospitals of Ahvaz during 2014. Head-nurses and nurses were selected through census and systemic sampling methods, respectively. Data was collected by Burdens & Metzcus Leadership Behavior questionnaire and Meretoja questionnaire, and was analyzed using chi-square test and independent t-test.

Results: Most of the head-nurses in the public (%52.9) and private (%57.5) hospitals had relationship-oriented leadership style, and no significant difference was observed between leadership styles of the head-nurses in the two kinds of the hospitals (p=0.703). The nurses in the private hospitals (125.32±8.41) had significantly higher clinical competency compared to the  nurses in the public hospitals (118.22±9.51) (p=0.002).

Conclusion: The results showed more clinical competency in the nurses of the private hospitals compared to the public hospitals. Due to scanty of studies in this regard, further investigations are recommended.

Key words: Leadership style, Clinical competency, Nurse, Head-nurse, Ahvaz

Funding: This research was funded by Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences.

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Ethical approval: The Ethics Committee of Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences approved the study.

How to cite this article: Saeidi S.Gh, Elahi N, Neysi A, Latifi S.M. A Survey on Leadership Styles of Head-Nurses and Clinical Competency of Nurses in Public and Private Hospitals of Ahvaz in 2014: A Short Report. J RafsanjanUniv Med Sci 2016; 15(1): 81-90. [Farsi]