The working world of nursing unit managers: responsibility without power

This paper seeks to explore the responsibility and power of the role of nursing unit managers (NUMs) in rural New South Wales using Kanter's theory of organisational power as a framework. Using in-depth individual interviews with twenty NUMs, data were analysed from four perspectives to gain a deep understanding of the NUMs' working world. The findings show that the NUMs' role is substantive, encompassing both clinical and managerial functions. Overall, the findings indicate that the participants lacked power commensurate with their role responsibilities.