Date of Award

Summer 7-2023

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Sandra Swearingen, PhD, MSN, MSHA, RN

Second Advisor

Tanya D. Young, DNP, APRN, NP-C, MSN, RN, SANE

Abstract

Practice Problem: Shared governance (SG) is an organizational framework that empowers healthcare professionals by granting them authority over their own professional practice. The absence of a unit-based council (UBC) has been identified as hindering collaborative decision-making and problem-solving approaches.

PICOT: In four surgical clinics requiring a Unit Based Counsel (UBC) structure (P), what is the impact of implementing a Shared Governance (SG) toolkit (I) compared to not implementing an SG toolkit (C) over eight weeks? (T)

Evidence: The existing literature strongly indicates that shared governance (SG) empowers nurses to collaborate as equal partners with nursing leaders within the organization, fostering a collective effort in problem-solving and seeking effective solutions.

Intervention: The Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) change management project encompassed several key steps, including the formation of a unit-based council (UBC) for Shared Governance (SG) through the utilization of an SG toolkit for education. To assess the success of SG, the Index of Professional Nursing Governance (IPNG) was employed to measure relevant elements both before and after the intervention.

Outcome: The EBP change project was clinically significant in establishing a unit-based council (UBC) as part of the Shared Governance (SG) structure. A notable finding was the difference between male and female nurses regarding their perceptions of SG within the UBC. Female nurses reported significantly higher perceptions of shared governance in personnel matters compared to their male counterparts. Interestingly, although not statistically significant, male nurses reported higher perceptions of shared governance in other subscales except for goals.

Conclusion: Shared Governance (SG) is crucial in healthcare organizations as it fosters shared decision-making among nurses. Ultimately, SG serves as the cornerstone for cultivating a culture of clinical and nursing excellence within high-performing healthcare organizations.

Comments

Scholarly project submitted to the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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