Agnes Barden examined the relationship between shared governance and empowerment in registered nurses at a large hospital in this 2009 doctoral thesis.

Agnes Barden, RN, DNP. Shared Governance and Empowerment in Registered Nurses Working in a Hospital Setting. Doctoral thesis (2009), Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University; Cleveland, OH.

Abstract

Empowering registered nurses through professional practice models that include shared governance has been proposed as essential to improving quality patient care, containing costs, and retaining nursing staff. This descriptive correlational study aimed to determine the relationship between perceptions of governance and empowerment among nurses in an acute hospital setting. Kanter’s structural theory of empowerment served as the conceptual framework for the study, which took place in a large tertiary care hospital located in Queens, New York.

The purposive sample included 348 nurses working across 13 units that had maintained a shared governance model for at least six months to one year. In total, 158 nurses participated. They completed two surveys: the Index of Professional Nursing Governance and the Conditions of Work Effectiveness II Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics revealed that nurses were in an early implementation phase of shared governance and perceived themselves as moderately empowered. Furthermore, the study found a significant relationship (r = 0.34, p < 0.0001) between perceptions of shared governance and empowerment. This indicated that as shared governance progressed, empowerment increased as well. Recommendations for professional practice and future research are included.

Questions? Contact the author, Agnes Barden.