Critical Appraisal

Critical Appraisal

Critical Appraisal of Best Practice Approach

Shared Governance in Nursing

Nursing is cute care that is delivered under a group practice. Shared governance is a model that offers a structure and context under which nurses and other health professionals are expected to work together to deliver care to patients. Various configurations of practice within the hospital such as patient assignment, system accountability, managed care, and other critical systems within the hospital settings all require nurses to demonstrate high professional values and autonomy in the decision-making process (Dyrbye et al., 2018). However, this can only be possible if nurses decide to work together as a team toward the achievement of the set objectives. Therefore, shared governance means nurses working as a team, and within those teams, each person is held responsible and accountable for whatever is taking place within the hospital.

Importance of Shared Governance in Nursing

Shared governance is a model put in place to facilitate staff consultation and participation in significant decision making processes that take place within the healthcare facility. Shared governance as an essential model of governance optimizes nursing staff participation in crucial activities that takes place within the hospital (Kanninen et al., 2019). As a result, the model is considered beneficial and appropriate because it helps to promote collegial relationships and develop consensus when a critical decision is to be made within a healthcare system.  Shared governance was introduced in hospitals in 1975s to improve nurses’ work environment and satisfaction of the nurses as well because it encouraged working together as a team rather than working alone as it was the norm in the past (Kutney-Lee et al., 2016).  Shared governance as a practice is commonly utilized when dealing with patients in a critical stage of life or intensive care unit and require specialized medical attention that one professional may not deliver.

References

Dyrbye, L. N., Johnson, P. O., Johnson, L. M., Satele, D. V., & Shanafelt, T. D. (2018). Efficacy of the well-being index to identify distress and well-being in US nurses. Nursing Research, 67(6), 447-455.

Kanninen, T. H., Häggman-Laitila, A., Tervo-Heikkinen, T., & Kvist, T. (2019). Nursing shared governance at hospitals–it’s Finnish future?. Leadership in Health Services.

Kutney-Lee, A., Germack, H., Hatfield, L., Kelly, M. S., Maguire, M. P., Dierkes, A., … & Aiken, L. H. (2016). Nurse engagement in shared governance and patient and nurse outcomes. The Journal of nursing administration, 46(11), 605.