Robert Hess, PhD, RN, FAAN is the founder and CEO of the Forum for Shared Governance and creator of the IPNG and IPG, the only validated instruments for measuring professional nursing governance.
Robert Hess, PhD, RN, FAAN
Tim Porter-O’Grady, EdD, DM, APRN, FAAN, interviews Robert Hess, PhD, RN, FAAN, as the Leader to Watch in AONE’s Nurse Leader.
Dr. Hess is the Founder, CEO, and webmaster for www.sharedgovernance.org and www.careerwhisperer.org.
The January 28, 2011 round table discussion between Robert Hess, representing nurse.com and Gannett Education; representatives from AOL Health, WebMD, and Medscape; and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health & Human Services, is posted at The White House website.
Education and Research
Robert Hess is an educator, editor, author, and consultant. His formal education includes a degree in comparative religion from Temple University, a nursing diploma from Frankford Hospital in Philadelphia, a master’s degree in nursing administration from Seton Hall University, and a doctorate in nursing from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, where he studied organizational theory at the Wharton School.
His research involves the development of the only current valid and reliable instruments that measure governance by professionals. These instruments also assess the effectiveness of shared governance councils in healthcare organizations. Both nationally and internationally, researchers, consultants, and administrators have used these instruments to assess, implement, and evaluate shared governance programs and to pursue Magnet status. As a result, several hundred hospitals and healthcare systems have benefited from this work. In addition, these instruments have been translated into about 12 languages. In 2005, he created the Forum for Shared Governance and its website to meet the needs of staff nurses, administrators, and researchers involved in implementing and evaluating shared governance models.
Awards and Publications
As an award-winning author, Dr. Hess has written about 200 articles for numerous journals and two books. In his role as editor, he has personally coached more than 500 healthcare professionals to publish their first articles. Furthermore, Dr. Hess has served as a distinguished lecturer and writer for Sigma Theta Tau International, nursing’s honor society. He is also a past recipient of several awards from Seton Hall University, the New Jersey State Nurses Association, and the prestigious NJ Governor’s Merit for Excellence Award as educator of the year. In November, 2008, he was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Nursing for his work in shared governance.
Service and Leadership
Dr. Hess has served on numerous boards and committees. For example, he was a trustee on the Foundation of the National Student Nurses Association for eight years. Every year for 16 years, he spoke at NSNA’s national convention to a full house of students about the nursing job market and career fitness. He also served as past chair and advisor to the Development Committee (personal fundraising) for the American Academy of Nursing. In addition, he was a past director on the national board for the American Association for Men in Nursing.
As a speaker and researcher, Dr. Hess has been described as unflappable, focused, outspoken, and even “refreshing.” He is the present Founder and blogger for CareerWhisperer.org and past career blogger for Nurse.com.
Career at Relias
Dr. Hess retired at the end of 2018 from his day job as executive vice president, chief clinical executive, for Relias (formerly Nursing Spectrum/Nurseweek, Gannett Education, OnCourse Learning), which publishes Nurse.com and ContinuingEducation.com. Under his leadership, the organization built the largest CE providership in nursing. It also became the first-ever winner of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Accreditation Premier Program Award in 2007, which was awarded twice again, spanning 2009-2015. Capping his work as a commissioner and appraiser, he served as vice chair of ANCC’s Commission on Accreditation.
Continuing Education Legacy
Dr. Hess and his team developed continuing education for nurses, physicians, pharmacists, and 21 other healthcare disciplines through podcasts, webinars, live seminars, and career fairs. They also reached professionals through the most trafficked websites in nursing, including www.nurse.com. Healthcare professionals from such far-flung places as Madrid, Athens, Tokyo, Sydney, and Samoa visited these sites frequently. As a result, his provider units awarded millions of contact hours every year. In addition to www.continuingeducation.com, CE was provided through www.todayinpt.com and www.todayinot.com.
Current Focus
Dr. Hess’s current focus is interprofessional shared governance and related professional, organizational, and patient outcomes. He also serves as the flotilla staff officer for human resources and a vessel examiner for the US Coast Guard Auxiliary in Stuart, FL. Dr. Hess remains a very active researcher and prolific author in shared governance.