Perceptions, knowledge, and commitment of clinical staff to shared governance.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Nursing Administration
• Organizational Behavior

Background:

• Shared governance is a model for empowering clinical staff in healthcare decision-making.
• Understanding staff perceptions, knowledge, and commitment is crucial for successful shared governance implementation.
• Previous research highlights the complexities of transitioning to shared governance models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore clinical staff perceptions, knowledge, and commitment to shared governance.
• To compare pre-implementation and post-implementation responses regarding shared governance.
• To identify differences in perception and knowledge between participants and nonparticipants in shared governance.

Main Methods:

• A nonexperimental survey research design was employed.
• The Shared Governance Survey was administered to clinical staff at pre-implementation and 1-year post-implementation.
• A nonprobability sampling method was used, including 38 clinical areas (inpatient and outpatient).

Main Results:

• Perception and knowledge of shared governance decreased from pre- to post-implementation, attributed to the gap between idealism and reality.
• Commitment to shared governance increased during the same period.
• Participants in shared governance demonstrated significantly higher perception and knowledge scores compared to nonparticipants.

Conclusions:

• Clinical staff view shared governance as an ongoing process requiring time for shared responsibility, accountability, and authority.
• While initial perceptions and knowledge may wane, commitment to shared governance can grow.
• Active participation in shared governance is associated with enhanced understanding and perception of the model.