Participative Decision-Making & Nursing Governance Strategy

In today¿s complex healthcare settings, several challenges such as nursing shortages, decreased workforce, increased patient acuities, and demands, increased regulations that add to nurses' workload, increased job dissatisfaction, and less time spent at the bedside. These challenges are increasing nurses' responsibilities and accountabilities, but do not add power or authority to address needed changes to affect nursing practice. Healthcare executives and leaders realize that quality care is best delivered by staff nurses who are committed to the organization and empowered to practice their profession with no restraints and full autonomy through the implementation of professional nursing governance and shared governance model. Professional nursing governance is a multidimensional concept that encompasses the structure and process through which professional nurses direct, control, and regulates the many goal-oriented efforts of their professional practice and influence the organizational context in which it occurs through organizational recognition, facilitating structures, the liaison of information and the alignment of goals.