Nurse Manager Empowerment and Nurses' Engagement in Continuing Professional Development: A Parallel Mediation Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Nurse manager empowerment is integral to creating supportive work environments that may foster nurses' engagement in continuing professional development (CPD). Despite empowerment and CPD have been connected to positive professional outcome, limited research has explored the association between nurses' perceived nurse manager empowerment and CPD engagement and the mechanisms that may contribute to this association. AIM: This study examines the association between nurses' perceptions of nurse manager perceived empowerment and their CPD engagement in Saudi Arabia. It also assesses whether CPD motives, conditions, and perceived importance mediate this association. METHODS: A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive correlational design was adopted. Data were collected via online and paper-based questionnaires from nurses working in the selected hospitals. Perceived empowerment and CPD were measured using the Nurse Manager Empowering Behavior Scale (NMEB-SN) and the Questionnaire for Professional Development of Nurses (Q-PDN). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlations, and multiple linear regression. Parallel mediation was tested using PROCESS Macro Version 5 (Model 4) with bootstrapping to examine the mediating roles of CPD motives, conditions, and perceived importance. RESULTS: Nurses reported high perceived empowerment, strong CPD motivation, and high perceived importance of CPD. However, CPD condition scores were low, and overall CPD engagement was moderate. Perceived empowerment was positively correlated with CPD engagement (r = 0.448, p < 0.001). Among the proposed mediators, only perceived CPD importance partially mediated the relationship between perceived empowerment and CPD engagement. CONCLUSION: Nurse manager empowerment was positively associated with nurses' CPD engagement and may support greater participation in CPD activities. Perceived CPD importance is a significant partial mediator of this association. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nurse managers can foster work environments that support autonomy, recognition, and professional development. Enhancing empowerment may support nurses' engagement in CPD.