Shared Governance

Shared Governance Nurses at Saints Medical Center practice within the Shared Governance model, a process that provides empowerment to health care professionals to support their decision-making process. The framework for Shared Governance consists of a collaborative work environment for clinical staff and administration. The benefits of Shared Governance included professional autonomy, improved employee morale and job satisfaction, and enhanced communication with the goal of continuous patient care improvements. Within Patient Care Services, nursing input is valued at several department councils, including Nursing Advisory, Nursing Education and Practice, Nursing Quality, Nursing Research and Nursing Strategic Councils. Each clinical department has unit-based councils with co-chairs to represent them on the Patient Care Service councils. Council responsibilities include setting policies and procedural guidelines with standards of care and ethical issues, self-scheduling, recruitment and the improvement, documentation and statistical reporting relating to JCAHO Standards.