Shared decision-making in nursing education

Shared decision-making is an effective management strategy that may have positive implications for nurse educators facing curricular and course delivery issues. Use of shared or participative decision-making recognizes that decisions made for the overall good of the organization should include those integrally involved, i.e., faculty, students and administration. Ultimately, effective student learning should be the outcome of decisions related to curricular and content delivery. In this anecdotal paper, the authors present shared decision-making (SDM) as a management strategy that may be effectively utilized in a range of situations in educational settings. An exemplar is presented regarding changes in course delivery methods at two sister schools of nursing. Strategies to promote successful implementation, as well as challenges in initiating SDM, are discussed. The information presented in this paper can benefit nurse educators by offering a collaborative approach to the issues of evolving nursing curricula and content delivery.