Nurses, nursing leadership and hospital and medical staff leaders share decision-making responsibility at OSU James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. The shared decision-making approach is one reason why The James is an enriching place for nurses to practice. Nurses have a strong voice in nursing practice and patient care through shared governance. Nurses set nursing practice and nursing care standards and establish operational systems and processes that support efficient, effective and safe patient care.
The nursing shared governance model is built on two pillars: unit-based councils and central councils.
Unit Councils
Unit staff members make decisions that affect their individual nursing unit or area as much as possible. Each council is formed at the discretion of the unit staff and often consists of representatives of the various positions employed on that unit. The unit councils take up subjects such as unit cleanliness, change of shift hand-offs, patient satisfaction, quality/performance improvement and code of conduct.
Central Councils
Issues and decisions that have impact across more than one unit or affect other departments and professional disciplines are taken to one of the central councils. Most councils (with the exception of Management Council) are lead by staff nurse chairs.
- Clinical Practice Council defines, implements and maintains standards of nursing practice and nursing care. They utilize an evidence-based approach to the development of standards and collaborate with the OSUMC nursing policy and procedure committees to insure consistency of nursing practice and nursing care across the health system. The council also collaborates and works closely with many other departments and professional disciplines to further the goals of interdisciplinary care planning and care delivery. All nursing areas are represented on this council.
- Magnet Council has oversight responsibility for achieving and maintaining the American Nursing Association's Magnet Designation. All areas of nursing are represented on this council.
- Management Council has oversight responsibility for all administrative and management practices across nursing as well as regulatory preparation, such as JCAHO visits. Each unit council reports to this council so that activities at the unit level can be shared and coordinated. All nursing managers and directors are members of this council along with selected staff nurse representatives.
- Professional Development Council is responsible for promoting, facilitating and planning professional development activities. This council also establishes standards for staff education including orientation, annual competency assessment and continuing education offerings. In addition, this council oversees the clinical ladder program, encourages achievement of certification and guides the nursing scholarship award program and the annual Excellence Awards.
- Quality Council guides and oversees all performance improvement activities for nursing by focusing on structure, process and outcomes of care. This council focuses on achievement of the annual nursing performance improvement goals, implementation of national patient safety goals and measurement and analysis of nurse sensitive outcomes.
- Research Council promotes and facilitates the integration of evidence-based practice. It also fosters development of nursing research priorities by facilitating and advising nurses in the development, application, publication and presentation of nursing research and other scholarly activities.
- Coordinating Council coordinates, integrates and oversees the activities of all the James Nursing Shared Governance Councils. This council is composed of all central council chairs as well as other selected members. The work of all the governance councils is reported on a regular basis as a means of sharing information, mediating unresolved issues, encouraging effective and efficient use of resources and achieving nursing strategic plan goals.
