Nurses' Perception of Shared Decision-Making Processes: Quantifying a Shared Governance Culture

Area of Science:

• Nursing Practice
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Shared governance (SG) enhances nurse autonomy and control over professional practice.
• Nurse engagement in SG is influenced by their desired level of decision-making power, known as decisional involvement (DI).
• Limited research exists on the concept of decisional involvement in nursing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the benefits of measuring nurses' perceived and desired decision-making capacity within a shared governance model.
• To establish a baseline for shared decision-making and identify areas for improvement in nursing practice.

Main Methods:

• The Decisional Involvement Scale was administered to acute care nurses.
• Nurses reported on their desired and perceived decision-making involvement across 21 nursing practice topics.

Main Results:

• Data revealed varying governance priorities among nurses in different practice areas.
• Nurses with over five years of experience in shared governance councils did not report greater satisfaction with decision involvement.

Conclusions:

• Comprehensive evaluation of shared decision-making is crucial for identifying improvement opportunities.
• Sustaining a robust shared governance model necessitates continuous analysis and refinement.
• Assessing nurses' desire for control in various aspects of decisional involvement enables targeted organizational efforts to strengthen shared governance.