Our Shared Governance Model
As one of the most elite hospitals in the nation, Tampa General Hospital is known for the outstanding professionalism of our nurses. We are committed to remaining firmly positioned at the forefront of the nursing profession by continually promoting innovation and excellence. Toward that end, our Shared Governance advisors, bedside nurses and nursing leaders recently worked together to enhance our Shared Governance Model.
A mainstay of Magnet®-designated hospitals across the nation, Shared Governance encourages nurses to take control of the decision-making process in clinical settings. By promoting ownership, accountability and equity, Shared Governance improves both nursing engagement and patient outcomes.
Communication Fosters Advancements
At TGH, we believe it is the nursing experts on the “front lines” who have the best understanding of what needs to be done and how it should be done. Therefore, some of the most valuable governance ideas stem directly from the Unit Councils. We took this into account when redesigning our Shared Governance Model. To help ensure that every nurse’s voice is heard, each Unit Council has a representative on each of the larger Nursing Shared Governance Councils, which make decisions and recommendations that impact the entire nursing body.
Another key objective of the redesign was to establish direct lines of communication throughout all levels of the Shared Governance structure as well as our overall hospital. In sum, our nurses know their voice matters.
Nurses are at the Core of Everything We Do
TGH’s newly restructured Shared Governance Model reflects the critical roles our nurses play throughout our organization. It allows them to function at the top of their license by:
- Openly contributing ideas
- Fully participating in decision-making
- Passionately driving change
- Actively contributing to improving patient outcomes
Significantly, TGH’s nurses do all of this and more with the utmost kindness, respect and empathy.
Rather than a destination in and of itself, Shared Governance is a journey toward world-class patient care. In recognition of this, TGH’s Shared Governance Model focuses on empowering the nurses who work tirelessly every day to improve the lives of our patients and their families.
