“Shared Governance in this organization is a partnership for accountability in practice,” said Tonya Newell, RN, Inpatient Care Coordination for Emergency Center and the Hub and longtime shared governance participant and supporter. “Shared Governance puts the decision for nursing practice back in the hands of the individuals doing the work.”
Among the recent major contributions of the Shared Governance system at Blessing Hospital is the clinical dress code policy. Based on the Voice of the Customer, nurses developed a standardized clinical dress code that enhanced the patient’s ability to identify the different types of caregivers.
“Shared Governance is full circle of communication,” said Tonya. “Everyone is involved and everyone has a voice. No nurse can say they didn’t have a say in a practice change. Without the nurses from the bedside bringing their ideas to influence practice, there would be no change.”
Another contribution of Shared Governance is the constant attention to nursing documentation for efficiency, to provide nurses the maximum amount of time to be with their patient at the bedside.
“Shared governance gives nurses a sense of ownership and satisfaction knowing they have positively impacted patient care, outcomes and their profession,” concluded Eydie Tipton, MSN, RN, CCRN, Nurse Researcher, Nursing Administration.
Blessing's Shared Governance Model
The Nursing Practice Council focuses on the practice of nursing. The council works to continuously improve the care and service provided to patients and their families. The council focuses on hospital-wide improvements based on strategic goals and how to best coordinate patient care and nursing standards between departments and councils.
Professional Practice Council nurtures the growth of the nurse professional practice environment as defined by the Five Components of Magnet, including the implementation of nursing standards of practice, nursing specialty certification, attainment of BSN and higher degrees, and the healthy work environment. This council also focuses on recruitment and retention of nurses. The council conducts an annual review of scope and standards and the nursing peer-review process.
Evidence-Based Practice/Research Council builds and maintains the organizational infrastructure for evidence-based practice and research. The council’s goal is to improve patient care through innovation.
Clinical Documentation Council develops, revises and implements the electronic documentation system at the point of care. This council ensures that the nurse has a documentation process that enhances patient care delivery.
Outcomes Team Council is an interdisciplinary committee that focuses on increasing patient safety and nurse-sensitive outcomes. The committee specifically looks at the SAFE program including fall scale and interventions, SAFE patient handling, falls data including but not limited to trends, increase or decrease in overall falls and falls with injury, hospital-acquired pressure injuries and preventable DVT occurrences.
CNA-PCA-Tech Council is the newest council and is a specialty council for CNAs, PCAs and techs. This council discusses the workflow for support staff and how to reduce silos and assist with standardization of processes and focuses on role responsibilities.
