Aim: To evaluate nursing leaders' perception of communication and relationship management competencies while using digital platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background: Nursing leaders can achieve effective leadership by mastering these competencies leading to an overall improvement in the quality of nursing care. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought numerous challenges in communication, and digital platforms have been widely used in healthcare settings to mitigate contagion.
Design: Cross-sectional.
Methods: The study was conducted between February and March 2021. A survey was adopted from the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) and was sent to nursing leaders in Qatar through email.
Results: A total of 250 nurse leaders were invited to participate, but only 116 responded (RR 46.4%). The male participants represented a more significant proportion of 64.10%. Influencing behaviour, relationship management and effective communication had the lowest scores, which indicates low competency.
Conclusions: Despite obtaining satisfying scores, nursing leaders in Qatar should strive for professional development and knowledge acquisition to improve their communications and relationship management competencies.
Implications for nursing management: Healthcare organizations must understand that nursing leaders should strive for professional development and knowledge acquisition to improve their communication and management.
Keywords: COVID-19; communication; leadership; management; nursing.
© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Nursing Management published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.