Consultant Virginia s. Cleland Shared Governance in a Professional Model of Collective Bargaining

Authority and responsibility delegation predicts quality of care

“…Literature reviews show repeatedly that nurses have traditionally assumed a lot of responsibility but have lacked the delegated authority to discharge this responsibility (Cleland 1978, Clark & Shea 1979, Adkins 1979, Baumgart 1981. Currently, health care goals, expenditures and health care programmes are being questioned, power relations in the health care system are becoming more fluid and the concept of functional equality is beginning to make one member of the health team as vital as the next (Labelle 1978).…”

Practice Collaboration Perspectives among Ambulatory Care Nurse Practitioners in Virginia

“…Shared governance was first described by Virginia Cleland (1978) as a governing model that addressed professional nursing employee and management relations in institutions where collective bargaining existed. Cleland (1978) noted components of shared governance that allowed the professional nurse to develop their full potential as a health care provider whereby they were able to develop structures that unified nursing control over practice.…”

“…Cleland (1978) noted components of shared governance that allowed the professional nurse to develop their full potential as a health care provider whereby they were able to develop structures that unified nursing control over practice. Since, the inception of shared governance, application of professional nurse-structured leadership has been limited to bedside nursing staff.…”

“…In ideal structured nursing leadership environments, committees within a shared governance model include shared power, control and decision-making with the professional nurse (Anthony, 2004). The structure enables the professional nurse to be accountable for their own practice, include pathways for legislative authority to develop practice policies, and allows the professional nurse to be responsible for devising and implementing practice quality and standards (Cleland, 1978). The professional nurse is then responsible for, has authority for and is accountable for their practice.…”

“…In the latter part of the 20th century, great strides were made in developing the professional model of nursing practice (Cleland, 1978). …”