Slicing and dicing shared governance: in and around the numbers.

Hospitals seeking Magnet status must demonstrate empowering structures and processes that involve nurses in governance and decision-making about their practice. Shared governance--an organizational innovation that legitimizes health care professionals' decision-making control over their practice, while extending their influence to administrative areas previously controlled by managers--can achieve this. However, evidence connecting shared governance with clinical, professional, and organizational outcomes has been sparse. Research using the Index of Professional Nursing Governance is changing that. Innovative uses of the Index of Professional Nursing Governance is strengthening new shared governance programs, rejuvenating old ones, and finally connecting innovative models to favorable outcomes.