Shared Governance Council

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Shared Governance Council

Shared Decision Making and Our Commitment to Excellence

At Lowell General, we believe that providing exceptional patient care requires the work of many. It's why we have a core nursing philosophy that brings nurses and management together to help problem-solve and uncover new ways to provide great care for our patients.

Shared Governance has helped professional collaboration and collegiality and is the underpinning of the professional practice model. It has brought forth autonomy, empowerment, retention, and satisfaction for our nurses. At Lowell General Hospital we believe that shared governance is a journey, not a destination and is evidenced by our continued growth as we evolve to a process that serves as a renewal and revitalization for the nursing profession.

Our shared governance council structure is built on the premise of teams coming together to create and implement actions toward desired outcomes that result in superior patient outcomes. Nurses from all areas expand their awareness, broaden their knowledge and enhance their ability to make the best decisions for our patients and their families.

At Lowell General, the keys to our success are:

All nurses participate in the shared governance structure
All nurses respond with flexibility to changes
The shared governance structure is supported by human and fiscal resources
All nurses are dedicated to providing quality, evidence-based, individualized nursing care in all areas where nursing is practiced
Collaboration and communication between nurses is supported across the continuum
A sufficient nursing structure exists to attain and sustain consistency of patient care throughout the hospital

This unique approach fosters an atmosphere of teamwork and professionalism and empowers every nurse to take ownership and pride in their work and to have a voice on their nursing units. Each unit has a unit-based council, which has a chairperson that reports to the Nurse Practice Council. The Nurse Practice Council is chaired by a staff nurse who works collaboratively within our shared governance council model. The result is a team working together to provide excellence in patient care.

Magnet Wheel Shared Governance Structure

There are 8 councils identified within the shared governance structure and they are accountable for the operations and collaboration of all nursing staff in all areas where nursing care is practiced. These councils are a forum for decision making domains within the nursing organization and are accountable for the process and outcome of all issues related to nursing practice, management, quality, research and education. Decision at the council level is achieved through a consensus process and defined via bylaws within our framework of professional practice at Lowell General.