Shared Governance In Nursing

Shared governance involves collaboration, problem-solving, and accountability, with the objective of higher staff satisfaction, proficiency, and patient outcomes. It is working together as a team to expand nursing in all scopes of practice. The International Council of Nurses (ICN) believes that nurses are key to improving access to quality and cost-effective care and to enhancing the health of populations (Benton, 2012). Much like health in a person represents more than the absence of disease, a healthy work environment encompasses more than absence of malfunction (Weston, 2010). Not only does a strong work setting create a desired workplace, but also provides the preliminaries to constructively influence the efficiency of the work itself. A …show more content…
It involved self-managed work teams and grew out of the dissatisfaction nurses were experiencing with the institutions in which they practiced (Staff Development, 2011). Administrations that employed shared governance programs assembled new committees to help in structured decision makings. These structured committees addressed issues pertaining to practice, management, eminence, and education, with the intent to improve the quality of healthcare. The ability of professional organizations to converse quickly with their members is one of the many benefits of involving a variety of organizations in collaborative efforts (Mathews, 2012). Three common models of shared governance have emerged. The councilor model, the most common, consist of a coordinating council that integrates decisions made by supervisors and staff in subcommittees. The administrative model, consist of either a management or a clinical focus. The third model, the congressional, relies on a democratic component to authorize nurses to vote on issues as a whole. These models support a proficient practice environment, which increases