Decisional Involvement: Differences Related to Nurse Characteristics, Role, and Shared Leadership Participation.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Effective nurse involvement in decision-making is crucial for quality patient care and job satisfaction.
• Shared leadership models are increasingly implemented in healthcare settings to empower frontline staff.
• Understanding factors influencing nurse decisional involvement is essential for optimizing healthcare environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between shared leadership and registered nurses' (RNs) perceptions of decisional involvement.
• To identify predictors of nurse decisional involvement within a shared leadership framework.
• To compare decisional involvement perceptions between nurse managers and staff RNs.

Main Methods:

• A survey was administered to 1933 registered nurses across 24 hospitals utilizing shared leadership.
• Data were analyzed to assess the association between council participation, nurse experience, and decisional involvement scores.
• Statistical significance was determined using P-values.

Main Results:

• Higher decisional involvement scores were significantly associated with participation in shared leadership councils (P = .03).
• Nurse experience was a significant predictor of decisional involvement (P < .01).
• Significant differences in decisional involvement scores were found between nurse managers and staff RNs (P < .01).

Conclusions:

• Shared leadership models appear to positively influence staff nurses' perceptions of involvement in decision-making.
• Nurse experience and engagement in leadership councils are key factors in enhancing decisional involvement.
• Further research is warranted to explore the nuances of shared leadership's impact on different nursing roles.