Shared governance is a leadership model that grants nurses control over decision-making in matters concerning the workplace. This management style has been popularized among medical institutions due to its remarkable success rates. Unit governance evaluates current practice and identifies areas of improvement regarding patient care, efficiency, and physician satisfaction (Lockhart, 2019). This essay reviews the case study about Letitia, a CNO officer who needs to thoroughly prepare to implement unit governance structure in her surgical unit.
The initial step in preparation involves gathering vital information about unit governance. Letitia can achieve this through conversing with other CNOs who have already implemented this leadership model in their units (Brennan & Wendt, 2021). Experiences are a powerful tool in learning, and people who have practiced shared management can provide knowledge and better understanding. Another way is conducting extensive research using credible publications that discuss shared governance (Lockhart, 2019). To determine the most suitable role, Letitia needs to consider factors like her skill set, potential benefits (to patient and self), committees available, areas in need of improvement, and tenets required for a particular task. These elements are instrumental in determining whether a physician will thrive in a specific role or not.
Letitia should also outline goals that correlate to patient safety and care and develop a strategy to implement them under shared governance. Importantly, as CNO, she needs to consider some of the possible limitations in the implementation and ways to maneuver around them. Drawbacks may include contending priorities, resistance to change, the inadequacy of dedicated resources, and a lack of knowledge among the nursing staff (McKnight & Moore, 2020). The resolve to be an active change agent also requires deciding the committee to serve and the task to undertake. Given that Letitia is a CNO, she should consider options like coaching or policy and structure management. Shared governance is a venue for excellence, change, and empowerment; thus, careful consideration is vital before committing oneself.
References
Brennan, D., & Wendt, L. (2021). Increasing quality and patient outcomes with staff engagement and shared governance. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 26(2). Web.
Lockhart, L. (2019). The benefits of shared governance. Nursing Made Incredibly Easy!, 17(6), 56. Web.
McKnight, H., & Moore, S. M. (2020). Nursing Shared Governance. PubMed; StatPearls Publishing. Web.