Exploring how nurses and managers perceive shared governance.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Science
• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Behavior

Background:

• Unit-based councils are crucial for fostering shared governance and delivering quality nursing care.
• Nurse managers play a vital role in the success of these councils, which involve direct care nurses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore discrepancies between direct care nurses' and nurse managers' perceptions.
• To identify factors influencing direct care nurses' participation in shared governance and their engagement levels.

Main Methods:

• A survey research design was employed, with 425 direct care RNs and nurse managers invited to participate.
• 144 nurses completed a 26-item survey assessing 16 shared governance factors, yielding a response rate of 33.8%.

Main Results:

• Key factors perceived as very important by both groups included manager support for participation, teamwork, minimal disruption to patient care, and compensation for extra hours.
• Nearly 80% of participants reported some level of engagement in shared governance activities.
• Nurse managers reported higher engagement in shared governance compared to direct care nurses.

Conclusions:

• Nurse managers and unit councils should assess nurses' views on manager support, teamwork, patient care continuity, and compensation.
• Findings can inform hospital strategies to enhance direct care nurse involvement in unit-based shared governance.
• Addressing these perceptions is key to optimizing nurse engagement and improving care delivery.