Shared governance models: the theory, practice, and evidence

Nursing practice models provide the structure and context to organize the delivery of care. Shared governance is a model of nursing practice designed to integrate core values and beliefs that professional practice embraces, as a means of achieving quality care. Shared governance models were introduced to improve nurses' work environment, satisfaction, and retention. The purpose of this article is to review representative published evidence of shared governance and to evaluate whether shared governance has lived up to its promise and potential. Theoretical and empirical evidence will be examined and discussed in an attempt to answer whether shared governance, as an organizational form of nursing practice, has achieved the positive outcomes it intended.