Brannon, Melissa2021-04-282021-04-281994-12https://hdl.handle.net/11274/12979This descriptive, interpretive study examined the lived experience of nurse managers. Although nurse managers represent a large group of nurses in practice, little research has been conducted from the managers' point of view regarding what they find meaningful about their experiences. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to reveal common meanings embedded in the experience of nurse managers to discover new possibilities for understanding nursing communities. Nurse managers (N = 16) were asked to submit a written narrative about their experiences. These narratives were analyzed using a Heideggarian hermeneutic methodology to identify common meanings, relational themes across texts and finally, constitutive patterns expressing relationships between themes. The analysis, carried out in a seven-stage process by a team of researchers revealed five relational themes and one constitutive pattern. The constitutive pattern of managing change emerged as the major finding of the research. This pattern exemplified how change had become pervasive in the lives of the nurse managers and linked the other relational themes.en-USNursingHealth and environmental sciencesManagementDissertation